Georgia Set to Execute Intellectually Disabled Inmate Whose Trial Was Tainted By Racism and Poor Representation

Georgia is prepar­ing to exe­cute Kenneth Fults (pic­tured) on April 12, fol­low­ing the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denial of his clemen­cy appli­ca­tion. Fults’ cur­rent lawyers pre­sent­ed evi­dence to the Board that Fults is intel­lec­tu­al­ly dis­abled and ​“func­tions in the low­est 1 per­cent of the pop­u­la­tion.” They also argued that Fults’ tri­al lawyer failed to present this evi­dence to the jury, as well as exten­sive evi­dence that Fults endured a child­hood of chron­ic abuse and tor­ment in which he report­ed­ly was ​“beat­en up and down by fam­i­ly mem­bers and strangers alike.” 

According to juror affi­davits sub­mit­ted in the clemen­cy pro­ceed­ings, Fults’ orig­i­nal lawyer also slept through parts of the tri­al. Fults’ tri­al was also taint­ed by racism. The clemen­cy appli­ca­tion and sev­er­al court plead­ings attach an affi­davit from one of the jurors admit­ting that even before the jury heard any tes­ti­mo­ny, he knew he was going to vote to sen­tence Fults to death. The affi­davit, signed in 2005, states: ​“I don’t know if he ever killed any­body, but that (N‑word) got just what should have hap­pened. Once he pled guilty, I knew I would vote for the death penal­ty because that’s what that (N‑word) deserved.” 

Fults’ lawyers have also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the exe­cu­tion and review the case, argu­ing that the juror’s racial bias uncon­sti­tu­tion­al­ly under­mined the fair­ness of his sentencing proceeding.