In a 6-3 vote on June 20, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court
declared it unconstitutional and cruel to execute persons with
mental retardation. The Supreme Court’s decision comes in the
wake of the Daryl Renard Atkins case, an individual who has
an IQ of 59 and has never lived on his own or held a job. AAMR
fully supports the Supreme Court decision. In 2001, AAMR and
eight other disability organizations presented an amicus brief
to the U.S. Supreme Court advocating against the death penalty
in the Atkins case. Attorney for Atkins and past president of
AAMR James W. Ellis says, “The Court has recognized the consensus
among the American people, even those who support the death
penalty. They are deeply disturbed by the prospect that people
with mental retardation could face execution.”
Visit http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/06/20/scotus.executions/index.html
to learn more on the Atkins case.
Visit http://www.aamr.org/Policies/position_statements.shtml
for AAMR’s position paper on the death penalty. |
