South Carolina court moves forward execution of cop killer who says most laws are unconstitutional

A South Carolina judge allowed an execution to move forward after ruling that the man's beliefs including that the greater part laws are unconstitutional and citizens have an absolute right to defend their property to death do not prove he is mentally incompetent Steven Bixby was set to die in May for the killings of two police officers before the state Supreme Court stopped his execution in order to determine his mental competency A lower court was requested to evaluate if his beliefs about the legal system meant his lawyers were unable to defend him The latest ruling issued by Judge R Scott Sprouse gives the execution the green light at least for now Addressing concerns about the ability of Bixby's lawyers to defend him Scott declared their client cooperates with his legal company and the psychiatrists who treat and question him The judge wrote that while Bixby has often disagreed with counsel and expresses distrust regarding their strategy in this proceeding the evidence demonstrates that he understands their role the rationale for why they are engaging in this competency proceeding and that he can choose whether or not to cooperate with them SOUTH CAROLINA DEATH ROW INMATE SAYS JUDGES ARE LED BY SATAN AS COURT WEIGHS IF HE IS COMPETENT FOR EXECUTIONBixby s lawyers can ask to appeal the ruling He stated in the past few days in a handwritten motion to the court that judges who rule against him are guided by Satan and suggested that the judge would commit treason if he failed to stop his execution and free him from custody according to The Associated Press A psychologist also previously announced Bixby understands what led to his death sentence but that he believes blood detected on his clothes the night of the killings contains the DNA of Jesus Christ I am an innocent man Let freedom ring let those committing treason swing Like Thomas Jefferson I am standing on principle even if I stand alone Bixby wrote in the motion via The AP In December Bixby shot Abbeville County deputy Danny Wilson as the officer knocked on the front door of his parents' home a day after they threatened the road crew according to authorities Wilson's dying body was pulled inside the home by the family and restrained with his own handcuffs The Bixbys then killed state Constable Donnie Ouzts as he and other officers responded to the home because Wilson had been missing for an hour leading to a -hour standoff as officers and the family fired hundreds of shots at each other investigators declared Bixby's parents were also charged with murder but have since died SOUTH CAROLINA DEATH ROW INMATE INVOKES 'SOVEREIGN CITIZEN' DEFENSE IN BID TO AVOID EXECUTIONIn his motion to the court Bixby reaffirmed his long-held belief that his family was justified in killing Wilson because the deputy was attempting to help take their land The handwritten motion came after the judge held a hearing last month to determine if Bixby was mentally competent for execution At the hearing lawyers for Bixby noted that he is convinced the U S legal system is unconstitutional and wrong and refuses to share information needed to help him avoid execution Prosecutors contended that Bixby's beliefs are shared by others and that he understands why the state wants to end his life An expert called by Bixby's lawyers noted the isolation of prison has only made his beliefs more delusional and that Bixby is stuck in his mindset The judge highlighted that two of the experts called by the state have been dealing with Bixby since shortly after the killings and that while Bixby has previously been angry with their testimony about his mental state he understands they need to do their job The state's experts testified that Bixby is not going to abandon his beliefs about the legal system and that he views himself in several solutions as a martyr prepared to die for his beliefs if his appeals fail They announced Bixby believes he will see his parents again in heaven The psychiatrist who sees and treats death row inmates in South Carolina noted Bixby described his mental state to him as I m not crazy I m not a mental soundness incident I may be an expletive but I m not crazy Bixby was out of regular appeals when the state Supreme Court halted his execution in March The Associated Press contributed to this description