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The Georgia home unanimously passed the bill Tuesday, reducing the threshold for those facing the death penalty that are considered intellectually disabled and disqualified them for death sentences.
Republican Rep. Bill Verhazer had previously introduced legislation aimed at making it easier for someone to prove they are intellectually disabled, in order to prove they are intellectually disabled, avoiding one of the country’s toughest thresholds to overcome.
The bill, proposed several months before Willie James Pie, who is said to be low enough to indicate that she is an intellectually disabled person, was executed after shooting his conviction in 1993 rape and the death of his ex-girlfriend Alicia Lynn Yabra. Pai’s lawyers argued that he was intellectually disabled and had brain damage.
Pye’s execution bothered Werkheiser. Although Werkheiser never voted for the committee at the time, the bill received more legislative support after unanimously passing the house. Now it heads to the Senate.
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Georgia GOP Rep. Bill Verkeiser said he thinks it is “incumbent” to “protect those who cannot protect themselves.” (AP)
Georgia became the first state in 1988 to ban the death penalty for people with intellectual disabilities. The U.S. Supreme Court later followed suit to find that execution of people with intellectual disabilities violated constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
However, the court allowed the state to determine the threshold for those considered to be intellectually disabled. Georgia requires people to prove their intellectual disability beyond reasonable doubt, making it the only state with such a high burden of proof.
The bill, which went on Tuesday, also allows defendants to present evidence of intellectual disability at pretrial hearings, which is mandatory if the prosecutor agrees to it. If convicted at trial, the defendant can present evidence of intellectual disability in a different process before the same ju trial.
Defendants who are found to have intellectual disabilities will face life sentences if convicted.
“I believe that it is mandatory for the state to protect those who cannot protect themselves,” Verkezer said.
In another case, Warren Lee Hill was executed in 2015 for killing a fellow detainee in Georgia, despite his lawyer claiming he has intellectual disability. In 2002, the judge said that if Georgia had used a lower standard than reasonable doubt, Hill likely would have been found to be intellectually disabled.
The Georgia home unanimously passed the bill to reduce the threshold for those facing the death penalty, who are considered intellectually disabled and not eligible to practice. (AP photo/sue ogrocki, file)
When the Georgia Supreme Court upheld Rodney Young’s death penalty in 2021, the judge found that he had not proven beyond reasonable doubt that he was intellectually disabled, but then Justice David Nahimias wrote that he “hugged” legislative efforts to lower the threshold.
Young was sentenced to death in 2008 for the murder of Gary Jones, the adult son of his ex-fiancee.
Prosecutors testified at the committee hearing that they are not opposed to amending the standard of reasonable doubt, but are opposed to changes in the testing process and the addition of pretrial hearings.
“A proposed bill cherry pick from several different states,” said T. Wright Barksdale III of the OCMULGEE Judicial Circuit in central Georgia.
Supporters of the bill argue that if the ju apprentice have already heard details of the horrifying crime, they may have a difficult time assessing the evidence of intellectual disability of the unbiased defendant.
Most states have separate processes for allowing defendants an opportunity to prove their intellectual disability before trial, determining their guilt and determining their intellectual disability.
“It is not enough to change the standards of proof alone to ensure that Georgia does not continue to execute people with valid claims of intellectual disability,” said Masielingutin, executive director of the Georgia Criminal Defense Bar Association.
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A Georgia Supreme Court judge admitted that Rodney Young, the man sentenced to death, failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he was an intellectually disabled person, and supported the death penalty. (via the Ben Gray/Atlanta Journal Constitution)
Barksdale argues that the proposal complicates the process and prevents the death penalty from being implemented at all.
“The law is being built and based on my experience of attempting capital cases, for all intents and purposes, we will cripple us that we will not get a real fair shot by imposing the death penalty on anyone,” Barksdale said, saying lawmakers should abolish the death penalty if it is said to be what they want.
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During the two committee hearings on the bill, Republicans and Democrats seemed unsure that the procedural changes would complicate the process. They noted that it would already take a long time, including many claims and hearings prior to the trial.
“There’s a death penalty in this state, and I’m not going to discuss it,” Democrat Esther Panic, who is also a criminal defense lawyer, said Tuesday. “But if we put in the ultimate punishment, it’s only for the worst, and only for those who spent time making sure we understand their fault.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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