Opinion ID: 865371
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mental Health Expert

Text: ¶12. First, King argues that the trial court’s denial of a mental health expert prevented him from proving that his mental capacity made him ineligible for the death penalty. Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 321, 122 S. Ct. 2242, 153 L. Ed. 2d 335 (2002) (holding that the Eighth Amendment restricts the state from executing a mentally retarded offender). King would assume it was very possible. 10 argues that since he could not afford an independent expert to conduct the testing using the currently accepted standards and procedures, he was not able to investigate and present definitive evidence that he is mentally retarded at his re-sentencing. Dr. Robin King and Dr. Michael Whelan testified regarding the Intelligence Quotient (“IQ”) tests conducted on King in 1983, in which both concluded that King had an IQ of 71.3 However, Dr. King testified at the 2003 resentencing that he was made aware of a grading error on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) which caused King’s full scale IQ to fall from a 71 to a 69. Dr. King further testified that King tested as mentally retarded. Additionally, in his brief, King acknowledges that “the record contained substantial evidence, brought to the trial court’s attention, establishing that King may be mentally retarded.” ¶13. King offers an affidavit by Dr. Caroline Everington in support of his motion for expert funds. In this affidavit, Dr. Everington states that based on her review of the record, “it is [her] preliminary opinion that there could be a basis to conclude that King is mentally retarded.” She further points out that while King scored 71 on the WAIS intelligence tests, a complete social history and the use of the most current IQ test would enable us to more accurately ascertain whether King is, in fact, mentally retarded. After reviewing the evidence in the record and Dr. Everington’s affidavit, we find that King has not shown the “substantial need” required to obtain funds for an independent expert. Holland, 705 So. 2d at 333. 3 Dr. King testified that King’s IQ of 71 could mean that he is mentally retarded. However, Dr. Whelan disagreed. 11 ¶14. Alternatively, King argues that even if his mental condition does not bar the State from executing him, his level of mental functioning is relevant to the mitigating circumstances that a jury must consider under Mississippi law. King argues that, without expert assistance to offer opinions about his mental condition, he could not make an effective argument to the jury regarding this mitigating circumstance. Specifically, King points to extreme mental disturbance, extreme duress and substantially impaired capacity to appreciate the criminality of conduct or conform conduct to the law as the relevant mitigating circumstances listed in Miss. Code Ann. §99-19-101(6)(Rev. 2000). However, a review of the record reveals that the jury was presented with mitigating evidence covering all the relevant mitigating factors that King sought to show at trial. First, Dr. King testified to King’s borderline intellectual functioning at his resentencing.4 Therefore, the jury was presented with mitigating evidence of his mental capacity. Second, King’s sister, Ethel Conner, testified to King’s childhood, which King presented for the purpose of showing mitigating evidence of mental disturbance.5 Conner also testified to King’s relationship with his uncle Willie Porter, which was offered to show extreme duress based on King’s theory that he was only a minor participant in the crime and acted under the influence of Porter. Specifically, Conner testified that Porter had a dominating relationship with King and that King had not been involved in any kind of criminal activity before Porter entered his life. Moreover, in his brief, King’s primary argument is that he was not allowed to present 4 See infra Issue II for a complete discussion of the evidence regarding King’s level of mental functioning presented to the jury by Dr. King. 5 See infra Issue II for a discussion of Conner’s testimony regarding King’s childhood. 12 mitigating evidence of his mental capacity because he was not granted independent expert assistance. However, as Dr. King testified to his mental capacity, we do not find that King was prejudiced by the denial of funds for an additional independent expert. As discussed above, King is not entitled to relief from the denial of funds for expert assistance, as he has not shown a substantial need for assistance under Harrison and Holland. ¶15. For these reasons, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying King’s Motion For Funds To Obtain Expert Assistance.