Man on death row 'nuttier than a fruitcake,' inmates say

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RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) -- From their cells on Virginia's death row, the inmates can hear Percy Walton laughing. His chuckles come from nowhere, inmates say, and are often mixed with shouts and incoherent babbling.

He talks back to voices only he can hear. He once told a psychiatrist he plans to go to Burger King -- after he is executed.

He was scheduled to die on Friday, but Gov. Timothy M. Kaine on Monday postponed his execution.

It was the second time the governor has temporarily halted Walton's execution. In June, Kaine issued a six-month delay to allow for an independent evaluation of Walton's mental condition.

The results of that evaluation prompted the governor to delay Walton's execution an additional 18 months, until June 10, 2008, for "continued observation" of his mental state.

Walton "is severely mentally impaired and meets the Supreme Court's definition of mental incompetence," Kaine said. "At the same time, it is within the realm of possibility -- though unlikely -- that Walton's mental impairment is not permanent."

Walton's attorney, Nash Bilisoly, said Kaine's decision was tantamount to clemency, as he believes there is little chance Walton will improve.

"I think he's really doing everything he can to make absolutely sure, but this is as close to a commutation as you can get without actually doing it," Bilisoly said.

Guilty plea to 1997 murders

Questions surrounding Walton's mental state have raged for nearly a decade. No competency hearing was held before Walton was sentenced to death, and various mental evaluations have yielded conflicting results.

Walton, 28, pleaded guilty in 1997 to the murders of Jessie and Elizabeth Kendrick, a couple in their 80s, and 33-year-old Archie Moore. The Danville residents were robbed and shot in the head; Moore's body was found stuffed in a closet, his corpse doused in cologne.

At trial, the prosecutor called Walton "a sadistic, ruthless and cold-blooded murderer who has no conscience."

The U.S. Supreme Court found in 1986 that executions of the insane are unconstitutional. In a concurring opinion, Justice Lewis Powell concluded that "the Eighth Amendment forbids the execution only of those who are unaware of the punishment they are about to suffer and why they are to suffer it."

Because of that, much of the controversy surrounding Walton has focused on whether he understands that to be executed would mean the physical end of his life. Several mental health specialists who have evaluated Walton have given differing opinions, and Walton himself has given conflicting answers.

"Percy was and remains deeply schizophrenic and mentally retarded," said Walton's attorney, Nash Bilisoly. "He still has no concept as to the fact that he's going to die or why and, in our view, it makes no sense to execute someone in that condition."

But the attorney who prosecuted the case thinks otherwise.

No insanity defense raised

"No issue of insanity was raised at trial," Danville Commonwealth's Attorney William Fuller said. "This is all something that's allegedly materialized later. I suspect that if you and I had been on death row for 10 years in the type of setup there, that we'd have some problems, too."

Walton was three days from execution in 2003 when a judge granted a stay so experts could explore his mental state. In subsequent hearings, a prison guard testified that Walton refused to shower, complaining about a man in a white suit sitting on a gray box in his cell. One prison psychiatrist testified that Walton was "floridly psychotic."

In the past, Walton has said that after he is executed, he will go to Burger King, take a trip to the shopping mall and hopefully ride a motorcycle, among other things.

He told one psychiatrist that an execution means "sleep for rest of life ... until someone comes to see you." More recently, Walton has been unable to offer any coherent response to questions about his execution, his attorney says.

But Walton also once said his execution would be "an end" or "the end," and said before his trial that the "chair is for killers," indicating to some that he may understand his punishment.

'Nuttier than a fruitcake'

In letters to The Associated Press, several of Walton's fellow death row inmates said his behavior is consistently bizarre, describing him as "nuttier than a fruitcake," "crazy as a bed bug," and "a walking talking cukoo (sic) bird." His prison nickname is "Crazy Horse."

Inmate William Van Poyck, who has been on the row with Walton for seven years, said Walton is unable to engage in any meaningful conversation, responding to most questions with a monotone "yeah" or "no."

"I've served approximately 34 years in adult prisons, which is to say I've got a lot of experience being around truly insane men, and Percy ranks right at the top of crazy guys I've encountered," wrote Van Poyck, a Florida death row inmate being held in Virginia.

The Kendricks' daughter, Barbara Case, said she is unsure about Walton's current mental state, though she believes he was sane when he committed the murders.

"He was in his right mind -- he was just mean," said Case, 68, of Brandon, Miss. "I've had people tell me they really believe he's unbalanced, and he may be since he's been locked up for nine years now."

She remains ambivalent about Walton's fate.

"If something happens December 8th and (Walton) doesn't die, it's not going to bother me one bit," Case said. "Because you know what? I really think the worse punishment ... is for him to be locked up the rest of his life."

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