In a dramatic shift for an institution that has repeatedly endorsed capital punishment, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on June 20 that executing the mentally retarded violates the Eight Amendment’s ban on excessive punishment. Citing a growing national and international consensus against the practice, as well as the court’s own judgment, Justice John Paul Stevens said the mentally retarded should be “categorically excluded” from capital punishment statutes. “Death is not a suitable punishment for a mentally retarded criminal.”
The historic ruling came in Atkins v. Virginia, the case of Daryl Atkins, who shot Eric Nesbitt eight times for beer money in 1996 in Hampton, Va. A defense witness placed Atkins’ IQ at 59.
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