MANSFIELD, LA – The District Court of DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, this past week scheduled an execution warrant for Christopher Sepulvado, who is described by his attorney Shawn Nolan as a “frail, wheelchair bound 81-year-old man with many debilitating illnesses.”
While his chronic health issues have persisted for years, a sharp decline in his health can be seen in recent weeks, added Nolan, noting his client has fallen multiple times in his cell…resulting in head trauma, confusion, and a recent hospitalization in which he is said to have been in the process of obtaining palliative care.
As his attorney statement states, Sepulvado’s health issues are plentiful—he suffers from a complete occlusion of the right internal carotid artery, which denies his brain proper oxygen.
Additionally, Sepulvado has “stage 4 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with extensive coronary calcification, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, asthma, prediabetes, degeneration of his spine and shoulders, and cellulitis,” according to the attorney statement.
With his plethora of health issues, Sepulvado’s attorneys have expressed concern with the efficacy of injecting him with a lethal toxic solution, as he has a failing circulatory system, resulting in a decreased blood flow (necessary for lethal injection), and subsequently severely diminished vein size, as evidence by medical staff being unable to locate a vein during a recent hospitalization.
While there are other methods of execution, such as the unstudied method of nitrogen hypoxia, Sepulvado’s cardiovascular and pulmonary ailments would pose the risk of complication in any method, according to his attorney’s statement.
As such, the state of Louisiana has effectively issued a warrant for the execution of “an already dying man,” added the attorney.
Sepulvado has been on death row for more than 30 years, and has been described as “a model inmate known for his deep Christian faith, service to others, and warm, healing spirit” by his attorney in an official statement.
Sepulvado has been able to rehabilitate himself from the “paranoid, angry person addicted to alcohol” that he was when he first arrived, through the use of regular prayers, fellowship, scriptural examination, and regular engagement with religious professionals in person and through correspondence courses, maintains attorney Nolan.
Nolan insists Sepulvado has used his Christian faith as “the catalyst” for his rehabilitation and personal growth (and) has expressed extreme remorse for the participation in the events which led to the death of his stepson.
Attorney Nolan states, “He (Sepulvado) spends his time serving his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and trying to help others…there is no conceivable reason why ‘justice’ might be served by executing (Sepulvado) instead of letting him live out his few remaining days in prison.”
