Opinion ID: 3043524
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: alabama’s application of atkins

Text: In 2002, the United States Supreme Court held in Atkins that the execution of “mentally retarded” individuals violates the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. 536 U.S. at 321, 122 S. Ct. at 2252.15 The Supreme Court pointed out that, “[t]o the extent there is serious disagreement about the execution of mentally retarded offenders, it is in determining which offenders are in fact retarded.” Id. at 317, 122 S. Ct. at 2250. The Atkins Court, however, left “to the States the task of developing appropriate ways to enforce the constitutional restriction upon their execution of sentences.” Id. (quotation marks omitted and alterations adopted). As recounted above, the Alabama Supreme Court in Perkins identified three requirements to establish intellectual disability “under the broadest definition” of mental retardation: (1) “significantly subaverage intellectual functioning (an IQ of 70 or below),” (2) “significant or substantial deficits in adaptive behavior,” and (3) 15 Prior to Atkins, Alabama, along with most other states, had not outlawed the execution of intellectually disabled individuals. See Atkins, 536 U.S. at 314–15 & n.20, 122 S. Ct. at 2248-49 & n.20; id. at 342, 122 S. Ct. at 2261–62 (Scalia, J., dissenting). 28 Case: 14-10721 Date Filed: 08/03/2015 Page: 29 of 39 manifestation of “these problems . . . during the developmental period (i.e., before the defendant reached age 18).” Perkins, 851 So. 2d at 456.16 Neither the Alabama legislature nor the Alabama Supreme Court has defined what constitutes “significant or substantial deficits in adaptive behavior.” See id. But the Alabama Supreme Court has applied generally the “most common” or “broadest” definition of mental retardation, which reflects “the clinical definitions considered in Atkins.” In re Jerry Jerome Smith v. State, No. 1060427, 2007 WL 1519869, at  (Ala. May 25, 2007). And “significant or substantial deficits in adaptive behavior” means, under the clinical definitions considered in Atkins, a petitioner must show limitations in two or more of the following applicable adaptive-skill areas: communication, self-care, home living, social/interpersonal skills, use of community resources, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure, and work.” Atkins, 536 U.S. at 308 n.3, 122 S. Ct. at 2245 n.3 (citing the American Association on Mental Retardation and American Psychiatric 16 In Perkins, decided shortly after Atkins, the Alabama Supreme Court noted that Alabama lacked statutorily-prescribed procedures for identifying intellectually disabled individuals and “urge[d] the Legislature to expeditiously develop procedures for determining whether a capital defendant is mentally retarded and thus ineligible for execution.” Perkins, 851 So. 2d at 457 n.1. In the absence of a legislative definition, the Alabama Supreme Court continued to apply “the ‘most common’ or ‘broadest’ definition of mental retardation, as represented by the clinical definitions considered in Atkins and the definitions set forth in the statutes of other states that prohibit the imposition of the death sentence when the defendant is mentally retarded.” In re Jerry Jerome Smith v. State, No. 1060427, 2007 WL 1519869, at  (Ala. May 25, 2007). 29 Case: 14-10721 Date Filed: 08/03/2015 Page: 30 of 39 Association’s definitions of mental retardation).17 Thus, we use that common clinical definition in considering this case. Cf. Lane v. State, ___ So.3d ___, ___ No. CR-10-1343, 2013 WL 5966905, at  (Ala. Crim. App. Nov. 8, 2013) (“In order for an individual to have significant or substantial deficits in adaptive behavior, he must have concurrent deficits or impairments 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.” (quotation marks omitted)).