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commutation intellectual disabilities U.S. Supreme Court

Death sentences reduced to life due to intellectual disabilities

Two men have been removed from death row in Texas in recent weeks based on evidence of their intellectual disabilities. The commutations stem from the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Moore v. Texas, which requires the state to use current medical standards in assessing intellectual disabilities.

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intellectual disabilities U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court invalidates Texas’s standards on intellectual disabilities in death penalty cases

Today, March 28, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the state of Texas must use current medical standards for determining whether a person is intellectually disabled and therefore exempt […]

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intellectual disabilities U.S. Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court set to hear Moore v. Texas

On Tuesday, November 29, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court will hold oral argument in Moore v. Texas, a case that addresses Texas’s unscientific standard for determining whether a person is […]

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Atkins v. Virginia intellectual disabilities Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear Texas death penalty case involving intellectual disabilities

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear two Texas death penalty cases: one involving egregious racial bias (Buck v. Stephens) and the other addressing our state’s unscientific and outdated process for assessing intellectual disabilities in capital cases (Moore v. Texas). The case of Bobby James Moore raises the question of whether modern standards should be used in determining whether he is intellectually disabled and therefore ineligible for the death penalty.

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Atkins v. Virginia execution intellectual disabilities

State of Texas Executes Robert Ladd

Tonight, the State of Texas carried out its second execution of the year, putting Robert Ladd to death for the 1996 murder of Vicki Ann Garner in Tyler (Smith County).  Late […]

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intellectual disabilities Stay of execution

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halts execution of Garcia White, denies appeal of Robert Ladd

Earlier today, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a reprieve to Garcia White. White was scheduled to be put to death on January 28th for the 1989 stabbing deaths of […]

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executions intellectual disabilities Uncategorized

State of Texas executes Arnold Prieto

The State of Texas carried out its first execution of 2015 on Wednesday, January 21, putting Arnold Prieto to death for the 1993 robbery and murders of Rudolfo and Virginia Rodriguez […]

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executions intellectual disabilities

“The Failure of Mitigation” Studies the Last 100 Executed

A new study of 100 people executed in 2012 and 2013 shows that the death penalty system has failed to identify and execute “the worst of the worst.” According to researchers, the overwhelming majority of those executed had deficits of at least one kind, such as intellectual disability, severe mental illness, or severe childhood trauma.