Arkansas Execution Stayed, Raising New Legal Questions

The execution of Rickey Dale Newman in Arkansas, scheduled for the night of September 28, was stayed by the state Supreme Court. Newman had waived his appeals. Nevertheless, there is evidence that he may be mentally retarded. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia (2002) that people with mental retardation cannot be executed. Newman’s case raises the question of whether a third party can intervene to request a stay of execution, even though the defendant does not want to appeal but is mentally retarded. (DPIC; also Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Sept. 29, 2004). See Mental Retardation.