HUTCHINSON WARRANT: Insanity litigation in Bradford County
Hutchinson’s attorneys claim he is insane for execution. Following the Commission’s determination that Hutchinson is competent for execution, litigation in Bradford County has begun.
Jeffrey Hutchinson’s execution is scheduled for May 1 at 6:00 p.m. As TFDP covered this morning, Hutchinson’s attorneys claim that Hutchinson is insane for execution. (For a full explanation on the procedure for raising and litigating this claim, see the prior TFDP post on this procedure here.)
This afternoon, following the Governor’s Commission’s determination on Tuesday that Hutchinson is competent for execution, litigation in the Bradford County circuit court began related to this issue.
Bradford County Filings
Litigation to review the Commission’s determination that Hutchinson is competent for execution has started in Bradford County. This afternoon, Hutchinson’s attorneys filed a Motion for Determination of Sanity to Be Executed Pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.811.
Hutchinson’s attorneys also filed (1) a motion for stay of execution, (2) a motion to compel discovery, and (3) motion for a continuance to comply with minimum due process.
The filings outline the following timeline related to Hutchinson’s attorneys’ claim that he is insane for execution:
April 10: Dr. Agharkar evaluated Hutchinson for 3.65 hours.
April 11: Dr. Crown evaluated Hutchinson
April 12: Dr. Crown issued a report concluding that Hutchinson “has functionally-based organic brain damage and notably cognitive impairments.” Further:
Mr. Hutchinson also suffers from a Delusional Disorder which is a psychotic disorder. His fixed delusionary system revolves around a conspiracy to execute him to protect various attorneys, police, investigators and the actual perpetrators of the killings that led to his conviction and sentence. Mr. Hutchinson believes he is being executed in an effort to silence him from exposing government secrets, including the truth about who the actual killers were. A Delusional Disorder is characterized by persistent false beliefs that are not bizarre. These delusions are firmly held despite evidence to the contrary.
April 12: Dr. Agharkar issued a report concluding Hutchinson “lacks the mental capacity to rationally understand the fact of the pending execution and the reason for it,” writing:
Mr. Hutchinson lacks a rational understanding of the reason for his impending execution as the direct result of a combination of damage to his brain caused by Gulf War Illness (which is caused by chemical exposures that targets the limbic system and prefrontal cortex); multiple traumatic brain injuries; Post-traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of his military service; and Mild Neurocognitive Impairment (including impairments in executive functioning and memory deficits). As shown by neuropsychological testing, Mr. Hutchinson has frontal lobe impairments which affect his ability to consider, weigh and deliberate, worsen his paranoia, but also impair his ability to inhibit and adapt.
These conditions are combined with, and may be the underlying cause of, psychotic thinking, hallucinations and a delusional belief system related to a conspiracy perpetrated by the government to silence him. The conspiracy which, in his view, explains why the murders happened and demonstrate his innocence. This is a fixed false belief whose origins pre-exist the offense, but which incorporated the murders in their aftermath.
Dr. Agharkar’s report also detailed Hutchinson’s history of injuries, trauma, and mental illness, including:
Later, Hutchinson served in the U.S. Army, where he served in the Gulf War, was exposed to toxic gas, and experienced significant trauma, including “witness[ing] U.S. troops [being] injured and killed”:
After returning home from the military, Hutchinson continued experiencing symptoms from the experiences he had while deployed:
He was treated by the VA for stress, headaches, and Gulf War Illness (GWI). He has also been diagnosed with “a mild neurocognitive disorder and TBI, and PTSD.”
April 14: Hutchinson’s attorneys submitted a letter to Gov. DeSantis raising a claim of insanity
April 15: Gov. DeSantis signs warrant for Glen Rogers’ deposition. (More on Rogers’ case here.)
April 17: Gov. DeSantis issued the Executive Order (EO) temporarily staying Hutchinson’s execution and appointing Commission to examine Hutchinson (covered here)
Note: The EO was not posted on the Governor’s website until April 23.
Also on April 17 (before the Governor’s EO was public), the State filed its Answer Brief at the Florida Supreme Court discussing Hutchinson’s insanity claim:
April 21: Commission’s 90-minute examination of Hutchinson
April 22: Commission’s report on Hutchinson, reporting that, “[s]ince being placed on death watch, [Hutchinson] was reported to be adjusting without difficulty. He maintains an orderly cell, makes his bed daily, and showers three times a week.” He “spend[s] his days praying, reading, working out, and having visitation. He has been receiving visits with his legal team, clergy, brother, sister-in-law, and fiance. He eats one meal a day which he consumes at dinner time” and “reported . . . sleeping better on death watch.” The Commission concluded that Hutchinson “rationally understands the nature and effects of the death penalty and why it has been imposed on him.” However, he is “persistent in . . . his belief he was wrongfully convicted and that he has a strong alibi.” The Commission’s report explained:
The Commission concluded “with a reasonably medical certainty that Mr. Hutchinson: (1) has no current mental illness, (2) has Antisocial and Narcissistic Personality Traits, and (3) fully understands the nature and effect of the death penalty and why it is to be imposed on him.”
Note: The critical inquiry for determining insanity for execution under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Panetti v. Quarterman “is whether a ‘prisoner’s mental state is so distorted by a mental illness’ that he lacks a ‘rational understanding’ of ‘the State’s rationale for [his] execution.’”
April 23: Gov. DeSantis issued EO lifting stay of Hutchinson’s execution (covered here)
Attachments to Hutchinson’s motion also include affidavits from his family members explaining the effects of his military service on his mental and physical health. His ex-wife’s affidavit explains:
April 24: Bradford County circuit court proceedings initiated
An evidentiary hearing is set for tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. Hutchinson’s attorneys say they were given less than 24-hours’ notice for the hearing.
Press Release from Hutchinson’s Attorneys
New Filing: Gulf War Veteran With Delusional Disorder Seeks Stay of May 1 Execution to Show he is Incompetent to be Executed
Stay is Necessary to Present Complete Evidence that Jeffrey Hutchinson is Not Competent for Execution
(Bradford County, FL, Thursday, April 24, 2025) Today, attorneys for Jeffrey Hutchinson, a Gulf War veteran facing execution on May 1, 2025, filed a motion [drive.google.com] in Bradford County circuit court seeking a stay of execution and a meaningful evidentiary hearing to determine whether he is competent to be executed. Mr. Hutchinson has long suffered from a delusional disorder and has a decades-long fixed delusion that he is being executed to silence his efforts to expose government secrets, including the truth about who the actual killers in his case were. Recent expert evaluations (which can be accessed here [drive.google.com] and here [drive.google.com]) determined that he lacks a rational understanding of why Florida plans to execute him and thus is not competent to be executed.
Mr. Hutchinson served in the U.S. Army for more than a decade. He deployed to the front lines during the Gulf War, where he was exposed to sarin gas and repeated blast injuries. As a result, he developed Gulf War Illness (“GWI”) and suffered permanent neurological and psychological damage. But his physical impairments were just the beginning. After his return from the Gulf, Mr. Hutchinson became increasingly paranoid, suspecting government operatives were persecuting him for his classified knowledge. His paranoia deeply affected his civilian life and relationships with others.
For over 25 years, he has maintained the fixed belief that he is innocent. He is adamant that his crimes were committed by someone other than him in an effort to silence his advocacy for other Gulf War veterans suffering from GWI. But now, with a set execution date, Mr. Hutchinson believes the government is executing an innocent man to conceal their decades-long coverups and wrongdoings.
In today’s filings, attorneys urge the court to grant a stay of execution so evidence of Mr. Hutchinson’s incompetence for execution can be meaningfully reviewed. At the State’s urging, the court has set the matter for an expedited hearing, giving attorneys less than 24 hours’ notice to prepare.
The hearing is scheduled for Friday, April 25, 2025, at 9:00 AM, in the Bradford County circuit court before Judge James M. Colaw. Because competency to be executed must be determined at the time an execution warrant is signed, Mr. Hutchinson’s lawyers argue an adequate and comprehensive hearing is needed so the court can review expert medical evaluations and consider the full extent of Mr. Hutchinson’s delusional belief system.
They explain that Governor DeSantis’s brief stay of execution and appointment of hand-selected experts who conducted an inadequate evaluation, resulting in a hasty determination that Mr. Hutchinson is competent, fails to ensure Mr. Hutchinson is not executed in violation of the Constitution.
“Having represented Mr. Hutchinson for a decade and based upon the recent reports finding him to be incompetent to be executed, it is appropriate to request a stay of execution on his behalf,” said Sean T. Gunn, one of Mr. Hutchinson’s attorneys. “Executing an incompetent and severely mentally wounded combat veteran violates the U.S. Constitution.”
In a recent report submitted to the court, Dr. Bhushan Agharkar, a board-certified forensic psychiatrist, found that Mr. Hutchinson “lacks a rational understanding of the reason for his impending execution.” Dr. Agharkar concluded that “Mr. Hutchinson does not have the ability to rationally understand why the government is seeking to execute him, nor the causal relationship between the crime and punishment to be imposed.” Dr. Agharkar determined that Mr. Hutchinson’s fixed belief that he is innocent, and that the Government is punishing him for a reason other than the crime he is charged with, does not equate to a rational understanding.
The U.S. Constitution prohibits executing anyone who lacks a rational understanding of why he is being put to death, as the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held. Despite the clear and compelling evidence that Mr. Hutchinson is incompetent under this standard, the state is moving forward with his execution.
The limitation of the state procedural rules aside, Florida’s competency standard presents a larger problem. In direct conflict with the U.S. Supreme Court’s “rational understanding” requirement, articulated in cases like 2007’s Panetti v. Quarterman and 2019’s Madison v. Alabama, Florida’s approach essentially asks only whether the prisoner knows why the State wants to execute him, regardless of whether he believes it. That approach, firmly rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, fails to protect people with a severely delusional belief system from being executed in violation of the Eighth Amendment.
Today’s motion explains: “Mr. Hutchinson’s insanity places him outside of the class of individuals eligible to be executed because the United States Supreme Court has held that the Eighth Amendment “prohibits the execution of a prisoner whose mental illness prevents him from ‘rationally understanding’ why the State seeks to impose that punishment.” (p. 13)
The motion asks the court to grant a stay of execution so that the court can hear from medical experts, review Mr. Hutchinson’s long-documented history of brain injury and trauma and evaluate his current mental state in accordance with constitutional standards.
For more information or to speak to an attorney for Mr. Hutchinson, please contact Jon Crane at: joncrane@criticalpr.com.