United Press International: Texas to execute mentally ill killer

Although the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against execution of the mentally retarded, a Texas killer who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia is scheduled for execution Wednesday in Texas.

James Colburn, who slept through portions of his trial because of heavy medication, is to receive a lethal injection for the June 1994 murder of Peggy Louise Murphy who had been hitchhiking near his apartment in Conroe near Houston.

"He has told me his biggest fear is to be buried because he thinks the demons will dig him up," his sister, Tina Morris, told the Houston Chronicle. "That's why he doesn't want a name on his headstone, so they won't know where he is."

Colburn received the death sentence for the stabbing and strangulation of Murphy, a 55-year-old hitchhiker who had accepted an invitation to Colburn's apartment. He attempted to rape her and then killed her when she resisted. He then told a neighbor to call police.

I think this speaks for itself.