Opinion ID: 1691748
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Eligibility for Execution

Text: ¶ 21. Petitioner alleges that he is mentally retarded within the meaning of the United States Supreme Court in Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335 (2002) and thereby entitled to present evidence of such at a hearing before the trial court. In Atkins, the United States Supreme Court determined that imposition of the death penalty on mentally retarded inmates constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Id. at 321, 122 S.Ct. 2242. The Atkins decision did not define who is or is not mentally retarded for purposes of eligibility for a death sentence but instead leaves to the States the task of developing appropriate ways to enforce the constitutional restriction upon [their] execution of sentences. Atkins, 536 U.S. at 317, 122 S.Ct. 2242 (quoting Ford v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 399, 405, 416-17, 106 S.Ct. 2595, 91 L.Ed.2d 335 (1986)). ¶ 22. This Court, in Chase v. State, 873 So.2d 1013, 1029 (Miss.2004), established these guidelines for determining mental retardation. We hold that no defendant may be adjudged mentally retarded for purposes of the Eighth Amendment, unless such defendant produces, at a minimum, an expert who expresses an opinion, to a reasonable degree of certainty, that: 1. The defendant is mentally retarded, as that term is defined by the American Association on Mental Retardation and/or The American Psychiatric Association; 2. The defendant has completed the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-II (MMPI-II) and/or other similar tests, and the defendant is not malingering. (emphasis added) Id. at 1029. ¶ 23. Accordingly, in Mississippi it is acceptable to utilize the MMPI-II and/or other similar tests. Id. at 1029. This Court did not intend by its holding to declare the MMPI-II or any one test as exclusively sufficient. Having a variety of tests at their disposal, courts are provided with a safeguard from possible manipulation of results and diminished accuracy which might result if courts are limited to one test. The United States Supreme Court mentioned the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales Test. See Atkins, 536 U.S. at 309 n. 5, 122 S.Ct. 2242. Other tests, as suggested by mental health experts, include the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS), the Validity Indicator Profile (VIP), and the Test of Memory Malingering (TOMM). See Douglass Mossman, Atkins v. Virginia: A Psychiatric Can of Worms, 33 N.M.L.Rev. 255, 277-78 (Spring 2003). ¶ 24. The Court's interpretation in this case as to the proper test to be administered with regard to an Atkins hearing supercedes any contrary decisions. This Court neither endorses the MMPI-II as the best test nor declares that it is a required test, and decisions that state otherwise are expressly overruled. See, e.g. Scott v. State, 938 So.2d 1233, 1238 (Miss. 2006) (holding that despite the doctor's use of a battery of other tests, administration of the MMPI-II is required prior to an adjudication of a claim of mental retardation); Goodin v. State, 856 So.2d 267, 277 (Miss.2003) (declaring that the MMPI-II is to be administered for a determination of mental retardation since it is the best test to detect malingering). Our trial courts are free to use any of the above listed and approved tests or other approved tests not listed to determine mental retardation and/or malingering by a defendant. ¶ 25. Counsel for Petitioner offers a report that Lynch has an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 72. Mild mental retardation is typically used to describe people with an IQ level within an approximate range of 55-75. The State does not concede that Lynch is mentally retarded but admits that Lynch has made an adequate showing that he is entitled to be heard on the issue. ¶ 26. In accordance with the guidelines set forth in Chase and further set out herein, this Court remands the matter to the trial court, where it may employ any one of numerous acceptable tests, for an Atkins hearing. The trial court, after being presented with sound mental evidence prepared by experts, should render its decision accordingly. ¶ 27. POST CONVICTION RELIEF GRANTED IN PART; DENIED IN PART. WALLER, P.J., EASLEY, CARLSON, GRAVES AND DICKINSON, JJ., CONCUR. DIAZ, J., CONCURS IN RESULT ONLY. RANDOLPH, J., SPECIALLY CONCURS WITH SEPARATE WRITTEN OPINION JOINED BY CARLSON, J. SMITH, C.J., JOINS IN PART. COBB, P.J., NOT PARTICIPATING.