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Atkins v. Virginia

Supreme Court of the United States · 2002 · Criminal Procedure

Criminal ProcedureConstitutional LawEighth Amendmentdeath penaltyintellectual disabilitycruel and unusual punishmentEighth Amendmentcruel and unusual punishment

Facts

Atkins was convicted of abduction, armed robbery, and capital murder and was sentenced to death. At sentencing, the defense presented Dr. Nelson, a forensic psychologist, who testified that Atkins was mildly mentally retarded based on interviews, records, and an intelligence test showing a full-scale IQ of 59. At resentencing, the State presented Dr. Samenow, who opined that Atkins was not mentally retarded and instead had at least average intelligence. The Virginia Supreme Court affirmed the death sentence and rejected Atkins' argument that his mental retardation barred execution.

Issue

Does the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments forbid the execution of a criminal offender who is mentally retarded? More specifically, has a national consensus developed such that executing mentally retarded offenders is an excessive punishment under contemporary standards of decency?

Rule

The Eighth Amendment bars the execution of mentally retarded offenders because, in light of evolving standards of decency, such punishment is excessive. In determining excessiveness, the Court looks first to objective evidence of contemporary values, especially legislation enacted by the states, and then brings its own judgment to bear by assessing whether the punishment measurably advances the recognized penological purposes of the death penalty. States retain the task of developing appropriate ways to enforce this constitutional restriction by determining which offenders are in fact mentally retarded.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In Phoenix, Omar Vega is convicted of a capital murder. At sentencing, the jury finds beyond dispute that Omar meets Arizona’s legal criteria for intellectual disability, but the trial judge rules that the condition merely counts as mitigating evidence and still imposes death because the aggravators are overwhelming.

Under the majority’s rule, is the death sentence constitutional?

Explanation. The majority held that execution of intellectually disabled offenders is excessive under the Eighth Amendment and therefore constitutionally forbidden. The rule is categorical: such offenders may be tried and punished, but not executed. The defect in the hypothetical is not a weighing error; it is that the court treated intellectual disability as mere mitigation rather than as a substantive constitutional exemption from the death penalty.