Aileen Wuornos, 44, one of the nation's first known female serial killers, was convicted of fatally shooting six middle-aged men along Florida highways in 1989 and 1990. Her story has been portrayed in two movies, three books and an opera. She is now on death row in Florida, scheduled to be executed on October 9.

At the time of the killings, Wuornos was working as a highway prostitute. She said all of the men violentlyattacked her. She was only tried once for the murder of one of the men. Her lawyer had her plead guilty to the other five. Here are details of her case which some believe indicate she acted in self-defense and didn't receive either a fair trial or effective assistance of counsel. Her supporters also say sexism, anti-lesbian and anti-prostitute prejudice were used to condemn her to death.

Wuernos wants to die. In April she received permission from the Court to drop her appeals and fire her lawyers.

But she has a civil suit pending against her prison guards. And the Court appointed a lawyer, Raag Singhal, to represent her. Raag Singaal is chair of the Prisons Committee for the National Associatoin of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Raag says in papers filed recently in the U.S. Supreme Court that he has grave concerns about Wournos' competency.

In the civil lawsuit, "Wuornos accuses prison guards of trying to harass her 'to death' and drive her to suicide. In her 25-page handwritten court filing, Wuornos also accuses prison staff of tainting her food, spitting on it and serving her potatoes cooked in dirt."

Singhal tells the Court, "The specific claims she raises ... if untrue appear to be evidence of delusional behavior." He also says, "Wuornos acted strangely, laughed and cried unexpectedly and obsessed on unimportant points during the hours he met with her over the summer."

Singhal is seeking to have Wuornos examined by court-appointed psychologists.

Governor Bush's position: He "... 'absolutely' believed Wuornos was competent when he signed her death warrant Sept. 5."

We are not comfortable with Governor Bush as the final arbiter on the matter. We hope the Supreme Court orders her examined. The state of Florida should not engage in either state-assisted suicide or the killing of a mentally ill woman. Why are we still sinking to these levels?