Rather than setting a specific IQ level, it provides that a convicted killer's life must be spared if he has a documented history of retardation and is found by two court-appointed experts to have low intellectual capacity. But that is not the only weakness. Sen. Richard Mitchell, R-Jasper, says retarded people don't have the understanding for the death penalty to be an effective deterrent. That may be true, if he is talking about deterring a retarded person before he kills his first victim. But it would deter the killer from getting out of prison afterward, either through an escape or release, and claiming another victim.
Capital punishment is the ultimate deterrent.
A dead person cannot ever commit murder again. It will be the state's job to protect the public from this dangerous group of people if they are exempted from full punishment. Enter words describing a concept or keywords.