As Amended
SEC. 99-19-57. Execution of death sentence; suspension of sentence when convict is insane or pregnant.
(1) If the commissioner of corrections shall, at any time, be satisfied that any female convict in his custody under sentence of death is pregnant, he shall summon a physician to inquire into such pregnancy. The commissioner shall summons and swear all necessary witnesses and the commissioner after full examination shall certify under his hand what the truth may be in relation to the alleged pregnancy, and in case such convict shall be found pregnant, the commissioner shall immediately transmit his findings to the governor, and the governor shall suspend the execution of the sentence until he is satisfied that the convict is not or is no longer pregnant. The governor shall then order, by his warrant to the commissioner, the execution of the convict on a day to be therein appointed by the governor according to the sentence and judgment of the court.
(2)
(a) If it is believed that a convict under sentence of death has become insane since the judgment of the court, the following shall be the exclusive procedural and substantive procedure. The convict, or a person acting as his next friend, or the commissioner of corrections may file an appropriate application seeking post conviction relief with the Mississippi Supreme Court. If it is found that the convict is insane, as defined in this subsection, the court shall suspend the execution of the sentence. The convict shall then be committed to the forensic unit of the Mississippi State Hospital at Whitfield. The order of commitment shall require that the convict be examined and a written report be furnished to the court at that time and every month thereafter stating whether there is a substantial probability that the convict will become sane under this subsection within the foreseeable future and whether progress is being made toward that goal. If at any time during such commitment the appropriate official at the state hospital shall consider the convict is sane under this subsection, such official shall promptly notify the court to that effect in writing, and place the convict in the custody of the commissioner of corrections. The court shall thereupon conduct a hearing on the sanity of the convict. The finding of the circuit court is a final order appealable under the terms and conditions of the Mississippi Uniform Post-Conviction Collateral Relief Act.
(b) For the purposes of this subsection, a person shall be deemed insane if the court finds the convict does not have sufficient intelligence to understand the nature of the proceedings against him, what he was tried for, the purpose of his punishment, the impending fate which awaits him, and a sufficient understanding to know any fact which might exist which would make his punishment unjust or unlawful and the intelligence requisite to convey such information to his attorneys or the court.
SOURCES: Codes, Hutchinson's 1848, ch. 64, art. 12, Title 2(15-21); 1857, ch. 64, art. 326; 1871, Sec. 2819; 1880, Sec. 3094; 1892, Sec. 1450; 1906, Sec. 1523; Hemingway's 1917, Sec. 1285; 1930, Sec. 1310; 1942, Sec. 2558; Laws, 1926, ch. 186; 1984, ch. 448, Sec. 5, eff from and after July 1, 1984.