Atkins V Virginia

1 Criminal Justice 222 23 June 2012 The tap subject Atkins vs. Virginia is discussing the let go that ment eithery developmentally challenged people being rewarded the death penalty. The watchword is that, are they capable of knowing the divergence between redress and wrong? When people are retarded does it affect their ethical motive and the way they look at situations? Does it affect the decisions they make and does it bushel the control they have on their emotions? Are their impulses clouded? Or could it be that people personation as mental retards near to get slack? This court cuticle was a major(ip) move in figuring break the decision in these type of cases dealing with mentally retarded people. This June 20th , 2002 case was a landmark decision by the US overbearing Court in reversing a fountain statu tes founded in the case of Penry v. Lynaugh in 1889. The issue of the slaying of mentally challenged individuals was first address in the case of Penry v Lynaugh in 1889. In a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court govern that the execution of mentally challenged individuals is not a violation of the one-eighth Amendment. The APA found that there were two principle reasons that led to this decision.

(1) the disabilities that companion mental deceleration are directly relevant to the immoral responsibility and select of punishment, and (2) the degree of reduction in moral blameworthiness act by a defendants mental slowing renders imposition of the de! ath penalty unconstitutional (www.deathpenaltyinfo.org ) Even though Georgia and Massachusetts banned the execution of the mentally challenged at the time, the court found that not exuberant states had formed a national consensus on the matter. Exactly how did all this come or so? What Cates 2 led up to this Supreme Court landmark retroversion? Approximately midnight in August 16, 1996, Atkins and...If you want to get a full essay, do it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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