Warren Lee Hill, Jr. v. Derrick Schofield

In 1988, well before Atkins1 in 2002, the State of Georgia led the nation by abolishing the death penalty for mentally retarded defendants. See O.C.G.A. § 17-7-131 (prohibiting death penalty where defendant proves mental retardation beyond reasonable doubt). The national consensus against executing the mentally retarded that gave birth to the Atkins prohibition was a consensus that Georgia started. And Georgia led the way by the very same statute in the very same form— § 17-7-131(c)(3), (j) — that the majority opinion now claims violates Atkins by using a reasonable-doubt standard.

After…