U.S. Supreme Court denies stay of execution for Michael Tisius, scheduled to die Tuesday

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a request to stay the execution of Michael Tisius, scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday at a prison in Missouri.

Tisius was convicted of shooting and killing two guards in Randolph County when he was 19 years old. His two co-defendants Roy Vance and Tracie Bulington are serving life sentences.

In the application to stay the execution submitted to the Supreme Court, Tisius’ legal team argued he should be spared because of his age at the time of the crime.

In 2005, the court ruled that executing youth under 18 violated the Eighth Amendment’s provision prohibiting cruel and unusual punishment. The justices cited scientific research showing juveniles lack the maturity of adults and are more vulnerable to negative influences.

Eighteen years after the decision, Tisius’ attorneys argue that more recent evidence shows that the brains of those in late adolescence — between 18 and 21 — are not fully developed.

“Given recent advances in neuroscience and society’s evolved view of the moral culpability of late adolescence, that logic now supports the categorical exemption of late adolescents from the death penalty,” the application said.

They go on to cite laws and standards that prohibit most late adolescents from drinking, consuming marijuana, or renting a car.

In response, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office said Tisius has failed to show evidence about brain maturity that is substantially different than research available in 2005. They also said no state “with an active death penalty scheme” prohibits the execution of 18 to 20 year olds.

Several prominent groups and individuals have voiced opposition to the execution, including the American Bar Association, the Missouri State Public Defender’s office and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. They cited a variety of factors including Tisius’ age, history of being abused and poor legal representation.

In a letter dated June 2, the European Union’s delegation to the U.S. wrote to Gov. Mike Parson saying it opposes the death penalty in all cases, but that Tisius’ case was “particularly concerning.” The letter said multiple neurological experts determined that ”Mr. Tisius’ serious impairments allowed him to be ‘groomed’ by Mr. Roy Vance while serving a 30-day sentence in jail for a misdemeanour.”

Vance said he was behind a plan to get Tisius and Bulington to help him escape from jail.

He described Tisius as “a kid in a grown man’s body and I knew I could manipulate him into what I wanted him to do.”

Five jurors, a former warden where Tisius was imprisoned and Archbishop Christophe Pierre, a personal representative of Pope Francis, have also called on Parson to commute Tisius’ sentence to life without parole.

A clemency application is pending with Parson’s office.