At Friday’s competency hearing in Greenville, 10th Circuit Court Judge R. Scott Sprouse tentatively set the week of Aug. 18 for attorneys to gather mental health records and interviews with state corrections and mental health employees who have had contact with Steven Bixby.
Bixby was convicted of killing two law enforcement officers in Abbeville County in 2003. He had been scheduled for execution, but the state Supreme Court, by a 3-2 decision, issued a stay on March 13, to determine whether Bixby is mentally competent enough to be put to death.
Bixby’s attorneys have argued that he is not capable of understanding his punishment.
Friday’s hearing lasted only a few minutes. State prosecutors requested time to interview employees from the state departments of Corrections and Mental Health, and to get medical and mental health records for Bixby.
Bixby’s attorneys agreed and Judge Sprouse tentatively set Aug. 21 or 22 as the date to determine whether Bixby’s death sentence will be carried out.
Sprouse has until May 2 to finalize the date; he has until Sept. 1 to adjudicate.
As the judge adjourned Friday morning, Bixby spoke, saying he wants it on the record that “17 different filings” over his prison term have “never been adjudicated.” He said he wanted it on the record that “I have never been allowed to say what I have a right to say.”
Bixby and his parents, self-proclaimed sovereign citizens, were involved in a standoff with law enforcement officers in December of 2003. A road widening project led to a dispute over land rights, and that dispute turned deadly. Following a 14-hour standoff, Bixby was convicted of killing State Constable Donnie Ouzts and Abbeville County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Daniel Wilson.
Bixby and his parents, Arthur and Rita, were also convicted in connection with the incident. In 2011, Rita died of cancer in prison and Arthur died in a psychiatric facility. He had been deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial.
Steven Bixby’s attorneys have argued that he has inherited his father’s mental illness.
The hearing in August will likely return to the Greenville County Courthouse. Judge Sprouse said that Abbeville County’s courthouse would not be secure enough for the hearing, without “an overhaul.”
