---
title: 'State Evidentiary Burdens for Proving Intellectual Disability'
description: 'From the Appendix to Lauren Sudeall Lucas, An Empirical Assessment of Georgia’s Beyond A Reasonable Doubt Standard to Determine Intellectual Disability in…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/stories/state-evidentiary-burdens-for-proving-intellectual-disability'
section: stories
date: '2017-12-31T12:26:00-05:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:57:20-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

From the Appendix to Lauren Sudeall Lucas, *An Empirical Assessment of Georgia's Beyond A Reasonable Doubt Standard to Determine Intellectual Disability in Capital Cases*, 33 Georgia State University Law Review 553, 607 (2017).

| STATE | BURDEN OF PROOF |
|---|---|
| **Alabama** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Arizona** | Clear & convincing evidence |
| **Arkansas** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **California** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Colorado** | Clear & convincing evidence |
| **Florida** | Clear & convincing evidence |
| **Georgia** | Beyond a reasonable doubt |
| **Idaho** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Indiana** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Kansas** | Not specified by statute or case |
| **Kentucky** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Louisiana** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Mississippi** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Missouri** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Montana** | None stated |
| **Nebraska** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Nevada** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **New Hampshire** | None stated |
| **North Carolina** | Clear & convincing evidence (pretrial);   Preponderance of the evidence (sentencing) |
| **Ohio** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Oklahoma** | Clear & convincing evidence (pretrial);   Preponderance of the evidence (sentencing) |
| **Oregon** | None stated |
| **Pennsylvania** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **South Carolina** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **South Dakota** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Tennessee** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Texas** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Utah** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Virginia** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Washington** | Preponderance of the evidence |
| **Wyoming** | None stated |