85 replies to this topic

[FlintyV]

Guardian - A death row prisoner who has been medically diagnosed as "mentally retarded" and therefore exempt from execution is set to die on Tuesday in Texas, a state that rejects scientific consensus and instead applies its own definition of learning difficulties based on a character in a John Steinbeck novel.

Barring a last minute intervention by the courts, Marvin Wilson, 54, will be put to death by lethal injection even though he has been subjected to scientifically-recognised tests that show him to be intellectually disabled – or "mentally retarded" as the US legal system still calls the condition.

In 2002, the US supreme court banned executions for all such prisoners under the Eighth Amendment of the constitution that prohibits excessive punishment. The 2002 ban, in Atkins v Virginia, is categorical: individuals with mental retardation cannot be put to death. The court allowed some discretion on the part of individual states to devise procedures for administering the injunction, but no right to ignore it.

Source

[jnelsoninjax]

So basically the state of Texas can do what ever the hell they want to do? A kind of 'To hell with the law?' or is this just a way for everyone to feel pity for the prisoner?

[sidroc]

Quote

Marvin Lee Wilson (born 5 January 1958) is a prisoner who has been on death row in Texas since May 9, 1992^[1] for the murder of a police drug informant.^[2] Wilson abducted and shot 21-year-old Jerry Robert Williams following a physical confrontation between the two in the 1500 block of Verone in Beaumont. At the time of the murder, Wilson had two previous convictions for robbery.^[1]

^{He didn't pull that off with the IQ of 61, also, the way this article trivializes the system Texas uses is not needed. That said, I am torn on the death penalty as it currently sits because I agree with it, but more often then not minorities and blacks get it before their white counterparts for similar crimes.}

[theyarecomingforyou]

Another reminder that the US has a long way to go before it catches up with the rest of the civilised world.

[Konstanov]

theyarecomingforyou, on 07 August 2012 - 01:55, said:

Another reminder that the US has a long way to go before it catches up with the rest of the civilised world.

And the first reminder that you're a holier than thou ****?

[moloko]

what does it matter if he retarded he murdered someone and was found guilty.
I wonder if he will be given a stay so not given death but just life instead. I think it depends on how much noise the constituents make.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Konstanov, on 07 August 2012 - 02:00, said:

And the first reminder that you're a holier than thou ****?

You've really put me in my place.

[DocM]

jnelsoninjax, on 07 August 2012 - 01:10, said:

So basically the state of Texas can do what ever the hell they want to do? A kind of 'To hell with the law?' or is this just a way for everyone to feel pity for the prisoner?

The US Supreme Court gave a nebulous decision back then. They ruled out executing the mentally retarded, but did not define it. That they turned back to the state legislatures to decide.

What little guidance they did give may not help this guy;

Quote

....that a person not only has substandard intellectual functioning but also significant limitations in adaptive skills such as communication, self-care, and self-direction.

so if he could care for himself, communicate, etc. he could well not meet the legal definition outlined by SCOTUS.

[theyarecomingforyou]

moloko, on 07 August 2012 - 02:03, said:

what does it matter if he retarded he murdered someone and was found guilty.

A retard is deemed not to have the mental capacity to understand the consequences of their actions.

[KingCracker]

Hmm, where did I hear that a law is a law if its broke the person must be punished, no exceptions..

[Tender Foot]

theyarecomingforyou, on 07 August 2012 - 02:04, said:

A retard is deemed not to have the mental capacity to understand the consequences of their actions.

and that doesn't mean they shouldn't face the consequence either or every murder would be claiming they are retarded to get away with their crime.

[moloko]

theyarecomingforyou, on 07 August 2012 - 02:04, said:

A retard is deemed not to have the mental capacity to understand the consequences of their actions.

I know what a retard is. but to me it should not matter. He is still a threat to society that why he in prison. This could be a good time for the family to sue the state.

[theyarecomingforyou]

Tender Foot, on 07 August 2012 - 02:08, said:

and that doesn't mean they shouldn't face the consequence either or every murder would be claiming they are retarded to get away with their crime.

The US Supreme Court disagrees. And even so they wouldn't "get away with the crime" - they'd still be facing life in prison.

[bjoswald]

And I thought Texas finally made killing retards illegal!

[FlintyV]

KingCracker, on 07 August 2012 - 02:07, said:

Hmm, where did I hear that a law is a law if its broke the person must be punished, no exceptions..

May want to read the article to see what's controversial about it:

Quote

Supreme Court of the United States ruled 6-3 that executing mentally retarded individuals violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments.