Jury says Atkins isn't retarded

[Judi Lynn]

Jury says Atkins isn't retarded
The convicted murderer on death row showed no emotion as the verdict was read. His execution date is set for Dec. 2.

BY KEITH RUSHING
247-7870

August 6, 2005

YORK -- Daryl Atkins' fate has rested in the hands of a jury. Atkins, 27, sentenced to death in 1998, would've been removed from death row if the jury decided he was mentally retarded.

After about 15 hours of deliberation, the jury of six men and six women decided Friday that Atkins' defense attorneys failed to show that he is retarded.

York-Poquoson Circuit Judge Prentis Smiley Jr. set execution for Dec. 2.

Atkins' mother, Elvira Bullock, who had testified that her son was slow to speak and learn new tasks, was led out of court in tears. She had no comment minutes later as she left the courthouse, still tearful, with someone holding each arm.
(snip/...)

http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-62854sy0aug06,0,6720987.story?coll=dp-headlines-topnews

[WildClarySage]

1. Sorry but WTF is a jury deciding this? Shouldn't it be

determined by a MRDD professional after interviews, assessments, etc?

[underpants]

5. The jury has to decide baed on expert testimoney

It is very odd that hhis case was the one that the SC decided on but still he is sentenced to death.

[HuckleB]

6. Which brings up questions all in itself, of course.

Is this actually a jury of his peers?

How much training do these "peers" have in deciphering and understanding the opinions given by "experts" on the issue of developmental diagnoses?

[LisaL]

7. You know perfectly well that "jury of his peers" means those are

the people that live in the area, not people of the same mental capacity.

[HuckleB]

11. That doesn't mean the question isn't necessary.

Would he ever be allowed on a jury himself, had he never committed a crime?

I doubt it.

[LisaL]

8. If jury gets to decide whether someone is insane, I suppose it's

only fair they also get to decide if someone is retarded.

[HuckleB]

12. Cool. Let's let juries decide if someone has Cerebral Palsy or not.

And cancer. And autism. Let's just get rid of the professionals altogether.

[livinginphotographs]

2. The tragedy of capital punishment.

Now another mother is going to lose her child.

Who does she get to kill in retaliation?

[underpants]

3. I am so glad York County FINALLY gets some national recognition

:eyes:
I grew up in "The County".

Atkins went to Bethel

http://www.dailypress.com/news/local/dp-60346sy0aug02,0,3152414.story?coll=dp-news-local-final

[GCP]

4. I am totally against capital punishment

That being said, it doesn't sound like he was retarded enough not to know right from wrong. He deserves jail, for at least 20 years IMHO.
My son, who has since been tested in the 130s was three and a half years old before he spoke, and had a lot of difficulty with fine motor skills. He could have been labelled wrongly as retarded at that age - in fact someone did say he was "too retarded to test" when they were trying to figure out why he wasn't speaking.

[mr mister]

9. I am against it...

...except for Freepers.

[JanMichael]

10. I thought you meant the diet! I didn't agree.

:-)

[merwin]

15. Me too! Atkins is VERY retarded.

[mr mister]

18. I didn't know he was CONservative. (eom)

[Pystoff]

13. I got a question

What was his crime? I assume murder but how and how many victims?

[GCP]

14. He and another guy got someone to use an ATM then killed him

It's in the link.

[Pystoff]

16. Oh

Welp then I assume he knew right from wrong beforehand.

[Judi Lynn]

17. Rising IQ condemns a killer

August 07, 2005

Rising IQ condemns a killer

A CONVICTED killer whose case led to the abolition of the death penalty for the mentally disabled in America faces execution after a jury in Virginia found he was too intelligent to benefit, writes Sarah Baxter.

Offenders with an IQ below 70 are considered mentally retarded in Virginia. But although Daryl Atkins scored only 59 in 1998, a recent test showed his IQ to have risen to 76. His supporters believe his results may have improved because of the intellectual stimulation provided by his case.

Atkins, 27, won a historic Supreme Court victory in 2002 exempting the mentally retarded from execution on the grounds of diminished “moral culpability”.

“It’s ironic, but as a legal matter this was always a possibility,” said Robert Dinerstein, a law professor at the American University in Washington.
(snip/...)

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1724275,00.html

[OhioBlue]

19. I'm still on the fence about the death penalty

but, I'm not going to spend my time arguing for someone that murdered another person. I'm glad we have the ACLU and activist groups that do to balance things out, but still, someone lost a family member to murder and if it was me, I would want the people responsible to face the maximum. I wouldn't care if they got the death penalty.

[Chicago Democrat]

20. Everyone is so stupid now,

retarded people seem normal!