Here’s one of those cases of unintended consequences. The Supreme Court recently ruled that we can’t execute the retarded. Daryl Atkins forced a man to get him money from the ATM, then drove him to a desolate place and shot him eight times. Daryl got the death penalty. But Daryl was never the sharpest knife in the drawer, so now his defense is fighting to have him declared retarded to spare his life.
(CNN) YORKTOWN, Virginia (AP) — Teachers, friends and family of a convicted murderer did not claim the man was mentally retarded until he faced the death penalty, a prosecutor told jurors.
But defense lawyer Mark Olive portrayed Atkins as someone so limited mentally that he couldn’t get a driver’s license and was cut from the football team because he didn’t understand the rules.
An IQ of 70 or below is required to be considered mentally retarded in Virginia, which also takes into account social skills and the ability to care for oneself. Atkins scored 59 on an IQ test in 1998, but recorded 74 and 76 on more recent tests.
Virginia law, however, also requires that mental retardation be determined by age 18. Atkins’ IQ was not tested as a youth.
Hey, wouldn’t it be easier to just not execute anyone, rather than have a trial to determine if he’s smart enough for us to kill?
