Advocates Call for Law Change Regarding Execution for the Mentally Disabled
While the execution of Georgia death row inmate Warren Lee Hill, Jr., was averted on Tuesday evening by stays from both the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Eleventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The stay from the Georgia Court of Appeals was over a challenge to the drug used to execute people in Georgia, while the Eleventh Circuit stay was over the question of Hill’s mental impairment. Both stays were issued less than thirty minutes before the execution was scheduled to take place.
Hill’s attorneys continue to argue he should not face the death penalty because he’s developmentally disabled. Meanwhile, state attorneys argue the defense failed to prove Hill is mentally disabled beyond a reasonable doubt.
At the Capitol Tuesday, advocates for those with intellectual disabilities say the state should not execute Hill.
Georgia Council of Developmental Disabilities Executive Director Eric Jacobson says Hill’s life and the life all other death row inmates with an intellectual disability should be spared.
Prior to the issuance of the last-minute stays for Hill, Jacobson said, “If Mr. Hill is executed this evening I think we send a message to our society that we’re not concerned about some of most vulnerable citizens, we’re not concerned about the people who need the law to stand up for them more than anybody else.”
Advocates say Hill and a number of other death row inmates meet the standard for intellectual disability in every other state except Georgia. Currently, Georgia law requires a defendant to prove what the statute calls mental retardation beyond a reasonable doubt.
Advocates say a change in state law is needed to lower that burden of proof and align Georgia with the rest of the nation. In 1988, Georgia was the first state to prohibit the execution of persons with intellectual disabilities.
Statement from the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities
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