| It has been more than three years since the U.S. Supreme Court outlawed the execution of the mentally retarded. In Atkins v. Virginia the court left it up to the states to figure out the details of how to implement this decision. Pennsylvania's legislature has yet to act.
Last month, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court chastised the General Assembly for failing to implement legislation on this issue, and we had every reason to expect the legislature to act when it returns to session next week.
Well we were right. We have just learned that HB 698 (more about that bill below) is on the agenda for the House Judiciary Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 24, 2006. Unfortunately, HB 698 is a flawed bill.
There are bills in both chambers of the legislature that address the implementation of the Atkins decision. Senate Bill 631 and House Bill 1410 mandate that the determination on mental retardation shall be made before trial by the judge, and this legislation is supported by advocates for the mentally retarded, church groups, and civil libertarians. Senate Bill 334 and House Bill 698 require the MR determination be made by the jury only after it has convicted the defendant.
Now is the time to call members of the House Judiciary Committee and ask them to support the pre-trial determination of whether a defendant in a capital case is a person with mental retardation!
Please tell the members of the Committee that you don't want them to vote for HB 698 because it sets up an unfair procedure. Tell them you want them to support HB 1410, because only it provides a fair procedure for determining whether someone is a person with mental retardation.
For more information on this issue, please go to: http://www.aclupa.org/issues/deathpenalty/deathpenaltymentalretardat/
Find contact information for the PA House Judiciary Committee here:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/representatives_sc.cfm#jud
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