Individuals with this disability are frequently used by other criminals to assist in law-breaking activities without understanding their involvement in a crime or the consequences of their involvement. They may also have a deep need to be accepted and may agree to help with criminal activities in order to gain friendship. Some common responses from those with mental retardation that may effect their ability to protect their rights during police contact include the following. Law enforcement officers often receive little or no training in the area of mental retardation and have difficulty recognizing a person who has this disability. They may be mistaken as someone who is drunk, on drugs or who has mental illness.
Court officials face the same dilemma.
Attorneys may represent people with mental retardation without realizing a disability exists and judges may impose sentences without taking mental retardation into account. Once in the criminal justice system, these individuals are less likely to receive probation or parole and tend to serve longer sentences due to an inability to understand or adapt to prison rules. Most people agree that capital punishment of people with mental retardation should be prohibited. Some states have already passed laws which abolish the death penalty for people with this disability. The Arc adopted an official position statement in 1992 titled Access to Justice and Fair Treatment Under the Criminal Law for People with Mental Retardation which advocates for the prohibition of the death penalty for people with mental retardation.