A man who killed his infant daughter in 2022 has been convicted in Oklahoma (United States|) and is serving the death penalty. Lawyers claim he was unaware of this due to his mental health, the Oklahoma newspaper reported.

Benjamin Cole, 57, killed his then nine-month-old daughter. At the trial, the man claimed that he tried to stop her crying.

Convicted, Cole will be executed this month. But lawyers argue that he is mentally unfit, that he has schizophrenia. Therefore, they filed an appeal to prevent the execution. However, the request was denied by the Pittsburg County District Court.

Facing the lawsuit, defense attorneys criticized a judge’s decision not to give Cole a qualifying hearing that would allow a jury to decide whether he was fit for execution.

“Oklahoma has no logical understanding of why it decided to execute him,” said attorney Tom Hird.

Hird added that his client suffered from defined brain damage and other factors that harmed his brain health, such as excessive abuse as a child.

“Benjamin Cole is essentially incapacitated to the point of non-functionality due to mental illness,” the lawyer said.

However, the state maintains that Cole simply has a personality disorder and is manipulative. District Judge Mike Hogan disagreed with Cole’s lawyers’ arguments and relied on analysis from a psychologist at Oklahoma Forensic Center and said he believed he could understand that Cole had been executed.

Director Jim Farris also believes Cole is eligible for the competition and cites the same report.

Brianna Cole died when her spine split in two and the injury pierced her aorta. Cole later returned to playing video games in the living room after killing his daughter.

At the mercy hearing, Brianna’s uncle said he “didn’t understand” what Cole had done to his daughter.