When he was 22-years old, he accidentally shot himself in the face. Because the pellets were made of lead, it is likely that this wound—visible to all—exacerbated his mental illness. According to the affidavit of his uncle, “[a]fter this incident, Muneer's behaviour changed a lot. He started to behave strangely, but not all the time. Sometimes he would be normal and then he would suddenly change, as if he was a completely different person.” Until his lawyers' intervention, Muneer's mental illness remained undiagnosed and untreated. Yet, it clearly manifested during his time on death row. In an affidavit, his wife recounts how when she would visit, Muneer would have “frequent fits of extreme anger and violence, and on other occasions, turn[] extremely pale, and become[] silent and distant, as if he was lost in his own world,” sometimes not recognizing his own family. According to fellow prisoners, Muneer had episodes where he would not eat for days on end. Finally, in September 2014, Muneer received his first psychiatric evaluation by a psychiatrist retained by his counsel, who diagnosed “symptoms of intense neurological and psychological illness.” Yet, despite the psychologist recommending additional testing and medical and psychiatric treatment, the Pakistani government never provided such care and Muneer was executed in March 2015. Pakistan also fails to provide the requisite procedural safeguards for those with mental or intellectual disabilities, which are critical in light of these individuals' heightened vulnerability at different stages of the criminal justice process. As the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has noted, “[b]ecause of the nature of mental retardation, mentally retarded persons are much more vulnerable to manipulation during arrest, interrogation, and confession.”249 Similarly, mental illness may yield false confessions, due to greater tendency for impulsivity, extreme compliance, and suggestibility.250 Accordingly, the CRPD requires “effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures”251 to ensure persons with disabilities are equally protected from torture or CIDT. Persons with mental disabilities also are affected acutely by incompetent representation due to their diminished capacity to represent themselves. As a commentator has observed, “[o]ne of the most critical issues . . . in a mental disability law context is the right to adequate and dedicated counsel.”252 Thus, the CRPD mandates that “States Parties shall take appropriate measures to provide access by persons with disabilities to the support they may require in exercising their legal capacity.”253 The dearth in procedural safeguards—both generally and those specifically designed to assist vulnerable persons—means that Pakistan regularly deprives mentally ill defendants of a fair trial, including recourse to mental health defenses. First, the lack of procedural safeguards at the arrest stage exposes persons with mental illness to high risks of manipulation and abuse during police interrogations. Once in the court system, access to psychiatric care remains very limited, and the lack of diagnosis compounded by the dearth in competent representation renders ineffective the procedural protections A “MOST SERIOUS CRIME”: PAKISTAN'S UNLAWFUL USE OF THE DEATH PENALTY 32