Photo courtesy Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Emile Pierre Duhamel
Photo courtesy Texas Department of Criminal Justice
We are killing the mentally retarded without serious qualm. We are killing persons for crimes they committed as children. And it is increasingly difficult not to notice and admit we are mainly executing people of marginal intelligence, doubtful sanity, and debilitating poverty. The death penalty has become an act of class warfare, fought top-down against the poor and incompetent.
-- Tom Teepen, Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Sept. 5, 1987
On July 9, 1998, Emile Pierre Duhamel was found dead in his cell on Ellis Unit #1--Texas' death row. Although the cause of death was officially listed as complications from diabetes, the effects of sustained 110+ degree temperatures and official neglect cannot be underestimated. At the time of his death Texas was in the middle of a record breaking heat wave. Hundreds died across the state. Except for certain special units and hospitals, none of the cells in Texas prisons are air conditioned.
This web page is about how Emile Duhamel came to live and die there. It is very much still under construction, and hopefully it will eventually contain enough information to help the reader understand what happened.
Before doing anything else, it is very helpful if you listen to the recorded interviews with Emile, found near the bottom of this page. It is the best way to learn who he was, and how profound were his mental illnesses. No medical or mental health experience is required to understand there was something terribly wrong about sentencing Emile Duhamel to the harshest punishment under the law. That sort of thing is supposed to be reserved for the worst monsters in our society, not a person who doesn't even understand where he is, or what the state has in store for him.
Emile Duhamel belonged in a long-term mental health care facility. His mental handicaps were known years before he committed any crime. Without proper training and supervision he was unable to provide for himself, or even know how to maintain his medication.
Duhamel was convicted of the 1984 rape and murder of 9 year old Jonette Edmunds in a cornfield near Harligen, Texas. Prosecutors alleged he lured the girl to her death under the guise of looking for a lost puppy. It was brutal crime.
Emile Duhamel had an IQ of 56 (the average is 100), suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, dementia, auditory and visual hallucinations, alcoholism, and depression. He was illiterate, and could barely sign his own name. Throughout most of his adult life, Mr. Duhamel was in and out of mental hospitals. At the time of Jonette Edmunds' death, he was living in the woods behind her home.
From the day he was arrested, there were questions about Duhamel's competency for trial and execution. Competency for trial means that a defendant understands the charges against him, and can assist his attorney in preparing a defense. At a hearing to determine his competency for trial, the court appointed psychiatrist testified that he was not competent. The state produced two jailers and a nurse who testified that Duhamel appeared normal to them. After 39 minutes of deliberation the jury ruled Duhamel was competent.
On May 14, 1985 Emile Pierre Duhamel was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die. His counsel presented no evidence regarding his mental health during the guilt/ innocence or sentencing phases of the trial.
From the day he was sentenced, there were serious questions about Emile Duhamel's competency for execution. Competency for execution means the person knows that he or she is going to be executed, and that they know the reason why. At least 30 death penalty states have strict standards and procedures for determining execution competency. In Texas, there are no set procedures for bringing competency issues to the attention of the court, no set fact finding procedures, no defined proper legal test for execution competency, and no procedures for determining what happens if a defendant is found to be incompetent.
In early 1996, Duhamel had a date set for his execution. His attorneys interviewed him in his cell on death row, and taped 90 minutes of that interview. Since that tape was played at a public hearing, it is now a matter of public record. The first thirty five minutes of the tape are now available on this site, and we soon hope to offer more .
Procedural Chronology of Emile's case 1984-1995 (soon to be updated)
Letter to the editor about Emile's death
Letter to Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence about Emile
Emile's Execution Competency Appeal
5th Circuit Denial of Habeas Relief
Amnesty International Report on Emile
Links to other sites
Recorded Interview with Emile Duhamel
To listen you need realplayer G2
Last Update 21-Oct-98
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