Criminal Law Keyed to Kadish
Atkins v. Virginia
ProfessorScott Caron
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
Atkins Daryl (D) was sentenced to death for shooting a patron of an automated teller machine and for robbery, after he was found guilty of abduction, capital murder and armed robbery. A verdict of “mildly mentally retarded” pertaining to the health of Atkins (D), was given by a forensic psychologist. This verdict of the psychologist was based on the interview he had with Atkins (D) and with others who knew him, review of school and court records of other crimes and a standard intelligence test which showed that Atkins (D) had a full scale IQ of 59. Atkins (D) however appealed against the ruling of the trial court on the ground that sentencing a mentally retarded criminal to death was a cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment.
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9m 29s