On May 23, lawyers for Georgia death row inmate Warren Hill (pic­tured) peti­tioned the U.S. Supreme Court to pre­vent his exe­cu­tion, cit­ing strong evi­dence that Hill has an intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty. Three men­tal health experts who tes­ti­fied in 2000 that Hill did not have an intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty have now changed their mind about the inmate’s men­tal health. According to the peti­tion, ​“all sev­en men­tal health experts who have ever eval­u­at­ed Hill, both the State’s and Hill’s, now unan­i­mous­ly agree that he is men­tal­ly retard­ed.” In Georgia, cap­i­tal defen­dants are required to prove ​“men­tal retar­da­tion” beyond a rea­son­able doubt. It is the only state in the coun­try that sets such a high bur­den of proof for such claims. Lawyers for Warren Hill claim that Hill’s exe­cu­tion will vio­late the Court’s rul­ing in Atkins v. Virginia (2002), which pro­hibits the exe­cu­tion of indi­vid­u­als with intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ties. In the peti­tion to the Court, the lawyers urged, ​“Every court to which Mr. Hill has peti­tioned in an effort to present this new and com­pelling evi­dence has denied him an oppor­tu­ni­ty to prove the mer­its of his claim. The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Parole has like­wise refused to reopen pro­ceed­ings in light of this evi­dence. This Court accord­ing­ly is Mr. Hill’s last and only hope to avoid an exe­cu­tion that is flat-out pro­hib­it­ed by the Eighth Amendment.”

(K. Brumback, ​“Lawyers for Ga. death row inmate ask US Supreme Court to pre­vent exe­cu­tion,” Associated Press, May 23, 2013). See Intellectual Disability and Supreme Court. Read full text of the peti­tion to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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