Opinion ID: 1941054
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Imposition of the Death Penalty on a Retarded Person

Text: Finally, appellant argues that it would constitute cruel and unusual punishment to subject him to the death penalty simply because he can present no IQ testing from his school years. Appellant contends that his present limitations, whether or not they began prior to age eighteen, should render him ineligible for the death penalty. His argument, in essence, is that a murderer who is mentally deficient to the same extent as a murderer who has been found to be mentally retarded should be similarly exempt from capital punishment. The trial court rejected this claim, finding that there is no national consensus that mentally deficient individuals should be entitled to the same exemption as those found to be mentally retarded. In addition, the court noted that the Atkins Court made it clear that not all defendants who claim to be mentally retarded fall within the range of mentally retarded offenders about whom there exists a national consensus against capital punishment. Atkins, 536 U.S. at 317, 122 S.Ct. 2242. Initially, we note that appellant frames this issue as whether it is a violation of the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions to impose the death penalty on an individual who is mentally deficient to the same degree as a person who has been labeled mentally retarded. Appellant's Brief at 41 (emphasis added). The only authority upon which appellant relies in forwarding this claim, however, is the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Atkins. Indeed, appellant's only reference to the Pennsylvania Constitution is in his statement of the issue. Therefore, this issue is waived to the extent appellant purports to raise it under the Pennsylvania Constitution. To the extent appellant raises this issue under the Eighth Amendment, we would not be inclined, in the absence of legislative direction, to extend Atkins beyond its express command. Atkins imposed a national rule upon all of the States, removing the authority to impose the death penalty upon a narrow class of capital defendants. Notably, however, the High Court did not establish a national standard for mental retardation, thus recognizing (and implicitly approving) a certain amount of flexibility under the Atkins rule. This fact, we believe, weighs heavily against a unilateral judicial action extending Atkins to other scenarios, particularly where, as here, appellant offers no evidence of a national consensus for prohibiting the execution of those who are mentally deficient but who do not meet the definition of mentally retarded. In this instance, applying the law as it presently exists, the trial court heard four days of testimony, including extensive testimony from two defense experts and several lay witnesses who testified on appellant's behalf. At the conclusion of that lengthy hearing, the trial court carefully and thoroughly examined and analyzed the evidence presented and concluded that appellant did not meet his burden of proving that he is mentally retarded such that Atkins bars imposition of the death penalty. As there is currently no prohibition on imposing the death penalty on a defendant who is mentally deficient but not mentally retarded, this claim must fail.