The Arkansas Supreme Court is to hear the appeal of a condemned inmate who claims he was mentally unfit when he was convicted of a 2002 murder of a woman in a transient camp outside of Van Buren.
Arguments are set for Thursday morning for Rickey Dale Newman's attempt to vacate his death sentence.
Newman was convicted of capital murder during a one-day trial for the death of 46-year-old Marie Cholette.
Lawyers for Newman claim the trial judge overlooked evidence that Newman wasn't mentally fit when he was tried. They also claim evidence favorable to Newman wasn't turned over by prosecutors to his defense.
Newman had said he wanted to be executed. When his execution date was nearing in 2005, he authorized his lawyer to apply for a stay.