---
title: 'List of Defendants with Intellectual Disability Executed in the United States (1976-2002)'
description: 'In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Atkins v. Virginia that executing inmates with “mental retardation” was unconstitutional. Some inmates with…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/stories/list-of-defendants-with-mental-retardation-executed-in-the-united-states-1976-2002'
section: stories
date: '2002-12-31T11:59:00-05:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:57:20-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in *Atkins v. Virginia* that executing inmates with "mental retardation" was unconstitutional. Some inmates with claims of intellectual disability have been executed since then, but they are not included in this list.

| Name | State | Race | I.Q. | Execution Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1\. Arthur F. Goode, III | FL | W | 60-63 | 04/05/84 |
| 2\. Ivon Ray Stanley | GA | B | 62 | 07/12/84 |
| 3\. James Dupree Henry | FL | B | low 70s | 09/20/84 |
| 4\. Morris Odell Mason | VA | B | 62-66 | 06/25/85 |
| 5\. James Terry Roach | SC | W | 69-70 | 01/10/86 |
| 6\. Jerome Bowden | GA | B | 59-65 | 06/24/86 |
| 7\. Willie Celestine | LA | W | (68-81) 77 | 07/20/87 |
| 8\. John Brogdon | LA | W | mild MR | 07/30/87 |
| 9\. Horace Dunkins | AL | B | 65-69 | 07/14/89 |
| 10\. Alton Waye | VA | B | probable MR | 08/30/89 |
| 11\. Johnny Ray Anderson | TX | W | 70 | 05/17/90 |
| 12\. Dalton Prejean | LA | B | 71-76 | 05/18/90 |
| 13\. Ricky Ray Rector | AR | B | MR from lobotomy | 01/24/92 |
| 14\. Johnny Frank Garrett | TX | W | dual MR/MI | 02/11/92 |
| 15\. Billy Wayne White | TX | B | 66-69 | 04/23/92 |
| 16\. Nollie Lee Martin | FL | W | dual MR/MI | 05/12/92 |
| 17\. Ricky Lee Grubbs | MO | W | 72 | 10/21/92 |
| 18\. Cornelius Singleton | AL | B | 55-67 | 11/20/92 |
| 19\. Robert Wayne Sawyer | LA | W | 65-68 | 03/05/93 |
| 20\. William Henry Hance | GA | B | mild MR | 03/31/94 |
| 21\. Mario Marquez | TX | L | 65 | 01/17/95 |
| 22\. Willie Clisby | AL | B | mild MR | 04/28/95 |
| 23\. Varnell Weeks | AL | B | mild MR | 05/12/95 |
| 24\. Girvies Davis | IL | B | low borderline MR | 05/17/95 |
| 25\. Sylvester Adams | SC | B | 65-69 | 08/18/95 |
| 26\. Barry Lee Fairchild | AR | B | 60-63(note | 08/31/95 |
| 27\. Walter Milton Correll | VA | W | 68 | 01/4/96 |
| 28\. Luis Mata | AZ | L | 68-70 | 08/22/96 |
| 29\. John Earl Bush | FL | B | low borderline MR | 10/21/96 |
| 30\. Frank Middleton | SC | B | 68-69 | 11/22/96 |
| 31\. Terry Washington | TX | B | 58-69 | 05/06/97 |
| 32\. Tony Mackall | VA | B | 64 | 02/20/98 |
| 33\. Reginald Powell | MO | B | 65 | 02/25/98 |
| 34\. Robert Carter | TX | B | mild MR | 05/18/98 |
| 35\. Dwayne Allen Wright | VA | B | MR/MI | 10/14/98 |
| 36\. Ronald Yeats | VA | W | 70 | 04/29/99 |
| 37\. Norman Lee Newsted | OK | W | MR/MI | 07/08/99 |
| 38\. Raymond James Jones | TX | B | MR | 09/01/99 |
| 39\. David R. Leisure | MO | W | 74 | 09/01/99 |
| 40\. Charles Anthony Boyd | TX | B | 64 | 08/5/99 |
| 41\. Willie Sullivan | DE | B | 58-70 | 09/24/99 |
| 42\. Oliver Cruz | TX | L | 64-76 | 08/09/00 |
| 43\. Wanda Jean Allen | OK | B | 69 | 01/11/00 |
| 44\. Robert Clayton | OK | W | 68 | 03/01/01 |

(Source: Dr. Denis Keyes, William Edwards, Esq., & Robert Perske, "People with Mental Retardation are Dying - Legally: At least 44 have been executed," Mental Retardation, Vol. 3, June 2002. pp. 243-44).