Have read elsewhere that there are witnesses to a confession he gave to his wife and 2 other people when he was telling them his accomplice did not kill the victim. Accomplice got life

Well if the evidence is just a confession, then his IQ is very important: ability to understand what he was admitting to, to distinguish right from wrong, fact from story etc.

Neither should a state

The bible belt “cult” are brainwashed by the right… ” an eye for an eye”

Who murdered someone. Did his being a black man in Texas have something to do with him murdering someone? I must have missed that in the article.

No Patrick, that’s not the argument I was making at all. Rather his race is relevant at sentencing and why he got the death penalty not life in prison. There are a disproportionate percentage of black people both imprisoned and on death row in the USA.
http://www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/raceinc.html
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-black-and-white-who-lives-who-dies-who-decides

They don’t put them in prison without reason. There are a disproportionate percentage of black people in prison because they tend to commit and get convicted of more crimes.

@Wayne Kerr, Are you saying that black people are more inclined to commit crime than other races?? REALLY?! This is the 21st Century.

You have to remember that not every crime is detected, not every detected crime is solved, and not every solved crime is punished. Along this chain there is human involvement in the detection, prosecution and sentencing of individuals. It is in this process that racism can play a factor. This is what the statistics show, not that black people are more criminal than white people.

Stupidity and intellectual disability are VERY different things. If this guy did have an intellectual disability there is every possibility that his reasoning processes and therefore his ability to recognise the legal repercussions of his actions were impaired. I’m not saying that people with disabilities should get off scot free, at all. But it’s not black and white.

“Mental retardation (MR) is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors. It has historically been defined as an Intelligence Quotient score under 70″

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_retardation

“Earlier court decisions had ruled that the IQ claim was based on one possibly faulty test and was not backed up by other assessments or tests.” If this was their best hand, they would have backe it up with proper tests by doctors to see if this man was Stupid (low IQ) or had a Mental Disability.

Seems like a last ditch attempt from reading the story

So now the state has taken a life and that puts them in a superior position? Think the state is primitive . Lowering the state to status of being worse than a murderer can never b right. Two wrongs don’t make it right .

He was being punished, life in prison. Not like the fake sentence we dish out.

@ Warren.. stupid comment

His lawyer didn’t say he shouldn’t be punished , but shouldn’t be executed.

Having a “low IQ” does not equal mental retardation. Although I wouldn’t be in 100% agreement with death penalty, at least the USA respect the severity of murder unlike Ireland where your back on the streets in 10 years or less/more in some cases. Nobody gives a second thought to the victim just that someone with a low IQ is getting the death penalty. More support for the victim and his family, give him the thought that his murderer denied him

You are totally correct Cathriona.

There is a huge difference between a stupid person and a person with an intellectual disability!!!!

Venessa, could you explain why ‘intellectually disabled’ is an OK phrase to use but ‘mentally retarded’ isn’t?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_disability read the first line.

Mental retardation (MR) is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors

Intellectual disability is a broad concept encompassing various intellectual deficits, including mental retardation (MR), deficits too mild to properly qualify as MR, various specific conditions (such as specific learning disability), and problems acquired later in life through acquired brain injuries or neurodegenerative diseases like dementia. Intellectual disabilities may appear at any age.

There is a difference. I’m sorry the term offends you, but I am not using it is as a derogatory term. I see that the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disability (AAIDD) and probably others, are trying to get it changed so ID covers everything.

Just like the word retarded became derogatory (it wasn’t when first used), I will also assume that any other term used to decribe it will at some point be used in a derogatory since also. The cycle will never end..

Ye thats right, Im not diabetic – I’m hormonally deficient.

So murder can be justified once it is the State doing the murdering ?

If he really has the mind of a child, then he should be judged as a child.

It’s important, because it relates to his intent. He may not have been fully aware of what he was doing.

OK Tony, using your logic, then the family of Marvin Wilson have also been wronged. They did nothing wrong either but a member of their family has been killed.

Executing someone with a mental disability is disgusting. I feel sick after reading about this.

Yes Mick, The state propped up by the will of the majority!

@ Ignoreland, Revenge isn’t justice

@Joseph McGranaghan, I never said justice was revenge, nor would I ever say that.
My argument is that this “somebody please think of the families” is a poor “appeal to emotion” logical fallacy upon which to take someone’s life away, when you can equally use the same argument to reject the death penalty.

The only possible argument in favour of the death penalty would be if you could prove it does have a deterrent effect, but it doesn’t as has been shown! And in any case I would still oppose the death penalty as I think it’s abhorrent and barbaric and spits in the face of any concept of human rights.

Strange my reply was too the post about using the word retarded – they all seem to be removed now. PC Brigade working for The Journal now. Mental Retardation is a real thing its not slander or an abusive term.

Also seem to be the point the defence was trying to make
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_retardation#IQ_below_70

The Journal don’t obviously believe so as they deleted my post….

No it isn’t.
There is a huge campaign on to remove it from everyday use.
It is insulting to people with intellectual disabilities and there family members.
I wouldn’t expect anyone who isn’t related to a someone with a condition to understand though.

What other words Eoin should we campaign to remove from daily use? Perhaps some people with dyslexia find the term dyslexic offensive, should we campaign to have it removed also?

“retarded”term no longer used thank God it’s ” “intellectually disabled”term now used.the same as “lunatic” and”idiot”removed from people with mental health issues.

Irony?

Only issue here is Texas takes to long to do the business that’s unduly cruel in my eyes. Once sentenced to death should be carried out next morning.

And why wrong with hanging? Does the job and saves on all these chemicals

Fully agree.

State sanctioned murder is still murder, in fact some of the worst crimes against humanity have been perpetrated by one state or another. The state is not infallible, nor does a democratic mandate justify murdering whomever you see fit.