US court blocks execution of inmate who believes he is immortal

A judge in the US state of South Carolina has ruled that a prisoner sentenced to death for the killing of a police officer 25 years ago cannot be executed.

The inmate, John Richard Wood, suffers from severe schizophrenia and genuinely believes he is immortal, Caliber.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Judge Grace Knie found that Wood does not meet the legal standard required for carrying out a death sentence.

He is unable to communicate rationally with his lawyers and does not understand the factual reasons for his punishment. He also mistakenly believes he has already been granted clemency by the governor.

During hearings, it emerged that Wood believes in a conspiracy involving law enforcement officers who, he claims, tried to frame him for rape.

He also alleges that the judge in his original trial was an agent of a deity called “Beloved Kevin Rudolph,” involved in a struggle for control over the planet.

The inmate further claims he has been granted wings and immortality.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov