Eye-plucking prisoner competent and sane

Andre Thomas plucked out his right eye in 2004. Now, he has plucked out his left.

The Texas death row inmate with a history of mental problems killed his wife and their two children and ripped out their hearts. He then walked into a police station and confessed.

None of that sounds all that sane. Indeed, Thomas has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and suffers from psychotic delusions and a preoccupation with death, religion, and suicide, sources say.

Nonetheless, he was found competent to stand trial, convicted, and sentenced to die for the death of his 13-month-old daughter.

The self-mutilation is unlikely to have any effect on his appeals, but at least they got him transferred to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.

The story is here.