Georgia Disabilities Expert Calls for Halt to Execution of Inmate with Mental Retardation

On February 19, Georgia is sched­uled to exe­cute Warren Hill, a death row inmate who has been diag­nosed with men­tal retar­da­tion (intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty). Over a decade ago, in Atkins v. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled it uncon­sti­tu­tion­al to exe­cute the men­tal­ly retard­ed. However, Hill con­tin­ues to face exe­cu­tion because Georgia requires proof of retar­da­tion beyond a rea­son­able doubt, the strictest such stan­dard in the coun­try and one almost impos­si­ble to meet in men­tal health eval­u­a­tions. In a recent op-ed in the Huffington Post, Eric Jacobson, the Executive Director of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, wrote, ​“State law requires that indi­vid­u­als prove they have intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty ​‘beyond a rea­son­able doubt,’ a pow­er­ful legal con­cept that does not trans­late into the way indi­vid­u­als are assessed to deter­mine if they have an intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty. So, while Georgia nev­er con­test­ed Mr. Hill’s intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty or I.Q. of 70, he was not able to meet the bur­den of proof.” Since the tri­al, sev­er­al of the jurors now say the appro­pri­ate sen­tence for Hill is life with­out parole, which was not an option at the time of his tri­al. In addi­tion, the fam­i­ly of the vic­tim in the case sup­ports life with­out parole instead of death for Hill. According to Jacobson, a fam­i­ly mem­ber said, ​“I and my fam­i­ly feel strong­ly that per­sons with any kind of sig­nif­i­cant men­tal dis­abil­i­ties should not be put to death.”

(E. Jacobson, ​“The Supreme Court Must Stop the Execution of Warren Hill,” Huffington Post, February 11, 2013). See Intellectual Disability and New Voices.