Opinion ID: 1780791
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: whether foster should be afforded an atkins hearing.

Text: ¶ 8. Foster first alleges that he is mentally retarded and that, under Atkins, his execution is prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. As the Supreme Court stated in Atkins: To the extent there is serious disagreement about the execution of mentally retarded offenders, it is in determining which offenders are in fact retarded. In this case, for instance, the Commonwealth of Virginia disputes that Atkins suffers from mental retardation. Not all people who claim to be mentally retarded will be so impaired as to fall within the range of mentally retarded offenders about whom there is a national consensus. As was our approach in Ford v. Wainwright, with regard to insanity, we leave to the State[s] the task of developing appropriate ways to enforce the constitutional restriction upon its execution of sentences. 477 U.S. 399, 405, 416-417, 106 S.Ct. 2595, 91 L.Ed.2d 335 (1986). Atkins, 536 U.S. at 317, 122 S.Ct. at 2250. The Court noted that [t]he statutory definitions of mental retardation are not identical, but generally conform to the clinical definitions set forth in n. 3, supra, id. at 317 n. 22, 122 S.Ct. 2242, as stated below: The American Association of Mental Retardation (AAMR) defines mental retardation as follows: Mental retardation refers to substantial limitations in present functioning. It is characterized by significantly subaverage intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with related limitations in two or more of the following applicable adaptive skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure, and work. Mental retardation manifests before age 18. Mental Retardation: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports 5 (9th ed.1992). The American Psychiatric Association's definition is similar: The essential feature of Mental Retardation is significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning (Criterion A) that is accompanied by significant limitations in adaptive functioning in at least two of the following skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills, use of community resources, self-direction, functional academic skills, work, leisure, health, and safety (Criterion B). The onset must occur before age 18 years (Criterion C). Mental Retardation has many different etiologies and may be seen as a final common pathway of various pathological processes that affect the functioning of the central nervous system. American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 41 (4th ed.2000). Mild mental retardation is typically used to describe people with an IQ level of 50-55 to approximately 70. Id., at 42-43. Atkins, 536 U.S. at 308 n. 3, 122 S.Ct. at 2245 n. 3. ¶ 9. Foster relies primarily on a psychological evaluation performed on December 31, 2002, by Dr. Marc L. Zimmerman. Dr. Zimmerman stated that he administered the Wechsler Adult Intelligence scale III, Benton Visual Retention Test and the screening test for the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery-Adult form. Dr. Zimmerman states that Foster's performance on the Wechsler was in the mildly mentally retarded range. Specifically, his verbal IQ was 68 (within the second percentile) and his performance score was 59 (the .03 percentile). His full scale score is 62 (the first percentile). His sister's responses to the Vineland indicate that he is functioning and always has functioned at an adaptive level consistent with the Wechsler scores. The tests of neuropsychological functioning are consistent with a diagnosis of mental retardation. ¶ 10. Foster also relies on the affidavit of his sister, Sandra Foster. Dr. Zimmerman administered the Vineland Adaptive Behavior scales to Sandra Foster. Sandra Foster states that [w]hen Ron was in Vine Elementary School in Aberdeen, the school tested Ron to decide what level he should attend at the school. After the test, Ron was placed in classes in the Annex, which was for the remedial or special classes. This was when Ron was in the third and fourth grades. Ron attended special classes from that time until he left school. ¶ 11. The State relies on an IQ test it states was performed at Whitfield in 1990, where Foster was allegedly shown to have an IQ of 80. This test result has been cited by this Court, by the United States District Court, by the United States Court of Appeals, and by Foster himself in pleadings before this Court. At this point the source of this IQ score is a mystery, as it cannot be found in Foster's appeal record. Even assuming that Foster's IQ is 80, that determination alone does not address all the criteria of Atkins. It is clear that a finding of retardation under Atkins includes intellectual functioning and numerous other factors. It is also clear that no judicial determination has been made as to Foster on the factors set out in Atkins. ¶ 12. We find that Atkins is an intervening decision under Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-27(9) (Supp.2002), such that the procedural bars raised by the State, that of timeliness and successive application, are not applicable here. We further find that, under the Eighth Amendment as construed by the Supreme Court in Atkins, Foster is entitled to an evidentiary hearing on the issue of his alleged mental retardation. Foster has the burden of proof at the evidentiary hearing. See Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-23(7) (no relief shall be granted under this chapter unless the prisoner proves by a preponderance of the evidence that he is entitled to such). ¶ 13. After careful consideration we find that Foster should be granted leave to proceed in the trial court on the sole issue of whether he is mentally retarded such that he may not be executed under Atkins v. Virginia . To that end the standard or definition of mental retardation shall be that enunciated by the Supreme Court in Atkins, especially the American Psychiatric Association's definition of mental retardation. American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV 39-46 (4th ed.1994). We further hold that the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II (MMPI-II) is to be administered since its associated validity scales make the test best suited to detect malingering. See id. at 683 (defining malingering as the intentional production of false or grossly exaggerated physical or psychological symptoms, motivated by external incentives such as avoiding military duty, avoiding work, obtaining financial compensation, evading criminal prosecution, or obtaining drugs). See also United States v. Battle, 235 F.Supp.2d 1301, 1307 (N.D.Ga.2001) (explaining MMPI and its validity scales and stating that [t]he MMPI is generally agreed to be difficult to cheat on without getting caught). Foster must prove that he meets the applicable standard by a preponderance of the evidence pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. § 99-39-23(7). This issue will be considered and decided by the circuit court without a jury.