Inclusion Daily Express -- State High Court Hears Atkins Mental Retardation Appeal

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State High Court Hears Atkins Mental Retardation Appeal
By Dave Reynolds, Inclusion Daily Express
April 25, 2006

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA--Attorneys for 28-year-old Daryl Renard Atkins appeared before the Virginia Supreme Court last week, arguing that he deserves a new trial to determine whether he has mental retardation and, therefore, could face execution.

Atkins was convicted of robbing and murdering Airman 1st Class Eric Nesbitt in 1996. Co-defendant William A. Jones testified that Atkins, who was 18 at the time, shot Nesbitt eight times. Jones' life was spared in exchange for his testimony against Atkins, who was sentenced to be executed for the crime.

Atkins' sentence became a test case for the U.S. Supreme Court, which determined in June 2002 that executing convicts who have mental retardation is "cruel and unusual punishment" in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. The high court did not decide whether Atkins had mental retardation, nor did it tell Virginia -- or any state -- how to determine if a convict does have the intellectual disability.

Atkins' case was returned to the Virginia Supreme Court, which ordered a new jury trial specifically to determine whether he has mental retardation. Under Virginia's law, mental retardation is defined as an IQ of 70 or lower, measured before age 18, along with low functional ability.

During the trial last summer, Atkins' attorneys presented evidence that he scored 59, 74, 67 and 76 on IQ tests -- all of which were taken after age 18. They also presented testimonies from teachers, coaches, and others, stating that in school he had difficulty with such things as telling the difference between left and right, and that he once handed in an assignment that he had copied word-for-word from a fellow student's work, including that student's name.

On August 5, the jury declared that Atkins does not have mental retardation and qualifies for the death penalty.

His attorneys appealed that ruling, and on Thursday argued that it was a mistake for the presiding judge to tell the jurors about Atkins' murder conviction and death sentence, the Daily Press reported.

Attorney Mark Olive told the justices that the jurors "formed a judgment that the defendant had been sentenced to die -- knowing that their neighbors had already determined he was guilty."

Olive said that Judge Prentis Smiley's instructions not only influenced the outcome, but also drew the jurors' attention away from what they were charged to do -- decide whether Atkins has the disability.

Senior Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katherine Baldwin, arguing for the state, said the jury needed to have that information so they could understand the importance of what they were being asked to do.

The state Supreme Court could rule on the case as early as June.

Related:
"Atkins' attorney, state disagree on what jurors needed to know" (Daily Press)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/06/red/0426a.htm
"Daryl Atkins v. Virginia" (Inclusion Daily Express Archives)
http://www.inclusiondaily.com/news/laws/atkins.htm

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