Post by MXB on Jun 10, 2006 7:22:48 GMT -5
New trial ordered for inmate on Death Row
By Larry O'Dell and Kristen Gelineau
Associated Press
Published June 9, 2006
RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a new trial to determine whether a Death Row inmate is mentally retarded and therefore ineligible for capital punishment.
The inmate, Daryl Atkins, was at the heart of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2002 that executing the retarded is unconstitutional.
The high court left it to the states to define retardation and sent
Atkins'case back to circuit court. In August, a Virginia jury determined Atkins was not retarded, allowing his death sentence for a 1996 murder to stand.
The state Supreme Court ordered the new trial on Atkins' mental status Thursday because the jury was improperly told that Atkins had previously been sentenced to death.
"The fact that the jury knew a prior jury had sentenced Atkins to
death prejudiced his right to a fair trial on the issue of his mental
retardation," Justice Cynthia Kinser wrote.
Lawyers for the state had argued that the jury was entitled to all the nformation.
Atkins was convicted in the robbery and shooting death of an Air Force enlisted man.
Also Thursday, Gov. Timothy Kaine delayed the execution of a triple killer about an hour before he was scheduled to be put to death amid claims he is retarded and insane.
Kaine's decision came moments after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request for a stay of execution.
Percy Walton, 27, had been scheduled to die by injection at 9 p.m. EDT or he 1996 murders of three neighbors in Danville. Kaine delayed the execution or six months to allow for an independent evaluation of Walton's mental condition and competence.
"It would be imprudent to either proceed with the execution or grant clemency without further review," Kaine said.
In their petition to the high court, Walton's attorneys argued that Walton is suffering from schizophrenia and is incapable of understanding the concept of death, therefore making him ineligible for execution. In a clemency petition to Kaine, they also argued that Walton is mentally retarded.
The Virginia attorney general's office has argued that intelligence scores taken when Walton was 17 and 18 place him above the accepted range for mental retardation, though other evaluations were conflicting.
Walton pleaded guilty in 1997 to the murders of a couple in their 80s and a 33-year-old man.
By Larry O'Dell and Kristen Gelineau
Associated Press
Published June 9, 2006
RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a new trial to determine whether a Death Row inmate is mentally retarded and therefore ineligible for capital punishment.
The inmate, Daryl Atkins, was at the heart of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2002 that executing the retarded is unconstitutional.
The high court left it to the states to define retardation and sent
Atkins'case back to circuit court. In August, a Virginia jury determined Atkins was not retarded, allowing his death sentence for a 1996 murder to stand.
The state Supreme Court ordered the new trial on Atkins' mental status Thursday because the jury was improperly told that Atkins had previously been sentenced to death.
"The fact that the jury knew a prior jury had sentenced Atkins to
death prejudiced his right to a fair trial on the issue of his mental
retardation," Justice Cynthia Kinser wrote.
Lawyers for the state had argued that the jury was entitled to all the nformation.
Atkins was convicted in the robbery and shooting death of an Air Force enlisted man.
Also Thursday, Gov. Timothy Kaine delayed the execution of a triple killer about an hour before he was scheduled to be put to death amid claims he is retarded and insane.
Kaine's decision came moments after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a request for a stay of execution.
Percy Walton, 27, had been scheduled to die by injection at 9 p.m. EDT or he 1996 murders of three neighbors in Danville. Kaine delayed the execution or six months to allow for an independent evaluation of Walton's mental condition and competence.
"It would be imprudent to either proceed with the execution or grant clemency without further review," Kaine said.
In their petition to the high court, Walton's attorneys argued that Walton is suffering from schizophrenia and is incapable of understanding the concept of death, therefore making him ineligible for execution. In a clemency petition to Kaine, they also argued that Walton is mentally retarded.
The Virginia attorney general's office has argued that intelligence scores taken when Walton was 17 and 18 place him above the accepted range for mental retardation, though other evaluations were conflicting.
Walton pleaded guilty in 1997 to the murders of a couple in their 80s and a 33-year-old man.