Opinion ID: 1387806
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: do georgians want all mentally retarded criminal defendants relieved from the death penalty without regard to any other factors?

Text: Today there may be a criminal defendant who has been tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for a heinous crime. He may fit within the medically accepted definition of mental retardation although he may have functioned in society and, in fact, may have been integrated into society to such an extent that no one considers him unable to act with the degree of blameworthiness associated with the death penalty. His mental retardation may not have prevented him from being able to appreciate the nature and quality or the wrongfulness of his conduct. This criminal defendant may have worked for a living and supported himself, may have a driver's license, may understand and obey the rules of the road, may have a family, may know the difference between right and wrong, may understand and obey the law generally, and may have planned and carried out a heinous crime that warrants the death penalty. That criminal defendant will not receive the death penalty if he can find newly discovered evidence that he is mentally retarded. His degree of mental retardation, blameworthiness, or involvement in the crimes will be of no significance; he will be relieved from the ultimate penalty based solely upon the expert's testimony that the defendant is mentally retarded.