Supreme Court Ban Executing the Retarded
Big news for today: The Supreme Court just banned executing the mentally retarded! Associated Press report. The case is Atkins v. Virginia. Here is the text of the Court's opinion.
As the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty said in a press release today: The next step for the court should be to apply the same, exact standard to the execution of youthful offenders."
The hearing on the Innocence Protection Act went well. Proponents say they are about 60% towards the passage point, which could still come later this year. For more, here's Barry Scheck's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
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