Bill to keep intellectually disabled people off death row signed into law

Most states have a lesser standard: a finding of disability “by a preponderance of the evidence,” meaning more likely than not, said state Rep. Bill Werkheiser, the Glennville Republican who introduced the measure.

The new law brings Georgia in line with the 26 other states that still execute people, supporters say.

Mazie Lynn Guertin, executive director of Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, called the measure long overdue. She said she wasn’t surprised it received the support of Democrats and Republicans alike.

“I want to believe that no one, regardless of their political affiliation, wants to see a person who’s living with intellectual disability wrongfully executed,” she said Tuesday. “It’s about humanity and it’s about putting people before politics.”

In addition to reducing the standard of proof needed to show a defendant has an intellectual disability, the new law allows for the matter to be argued at pretrial hearings, meaning a judge could decide the issue before a case ever goes to trial.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

It was previously left to jurors to determine whether someone was intellectually disabled, in addition to deciding whether they should get the death penalty. The problem with that, Werkheiser said, is juries were often jaded by the facts presented at trial, which in death penalty cases typically include weeks of “gruesome testimony” and “horrendous photos.”

Werkheiser attended Tuesday’s bill signing at the state Capitol alongside a number of the bill’s advocates.

“It sends a message, not just about policy, but that we are responsible for the most vulnerable in our state,” he said.

In a statement, the Southern Center for Human Rights said it has worked alongside capital defense attorneys and disability advocates for two decades to change the law, which it said put people with intellectual disability at greater risk of execution than any other state.

“In our work, we know that progress doesn’t happen overnight,” said SCHR Executive Director Terrica Redfield Ganzy. “The signing of HB 123 into law is a testament to the persistence, steadfastness, and community behind this effort. This law will undoubtedly save lives. We are thankful we had Chairman Werkheiser as a champion and partner in this monumental victory.”

Late tweaks to the bill made it so it took effect immediately after being signed into law. Another amendment gave the option for a sentence of life without parole, even if a person is deemed to have an intellectual disability.

Guertin said she wished a preponderance of the evidence had been the standard of proof in death penalty cases from the very beginning. She noted that in 1988, Georgia became the first state in the nation to ban the executions of the intellectually disabled.

The new law lowers the legal threshold required for intellectually disabled defendants and means judges could decide the issue before a case ever goes to trial.

In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court found it unconstitutional to execute defendants with intellectual disabilities, saying doing so violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. But in that decision, justices left it up to the states to set their own burdens of proof for such claims.

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

Defense attorneys have said there’s no question that Georgia’s high burden has led to the executions of intellectually disabled people. But many are hopeful the new law will prevent that from happening in the future.

“It is my hope and expectation that this change in the standard of proof will work to actually prevent people with intellectual disability from being exposed to a death sentence in Georgia,” Guertin said.