A judge agreed that capital punishment is ‘constitutionally prohibited’ because Elliahs Dorsey is mentally ill
An accused Indiana cop-killer will avoid the death penalty after psychiatrists found he was mentally ill and prosecutors said they were “constitutionally prohibited” from seeking capital punishment.
Elliahs Dorsey faces trial next month in the slaying of Indianapolis Police Officer Breann Leath, who was shot twice in the head through the door of an apartment while responding to a domestic disturbance on April 9, 2020.
Prosecutors were planning to seek the death penalty but reversed course on Wednesday, saying two court-appointed experts who examined Dorsey determined he was mentally ill, according to the Associated Press .
“The United States Constitution forbids the execution of mentally ill defendants. Based on all the available evidence, the State has determined that it is constitutionally prohibited from seeking the death penalty,” the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said in a news release.