State v. Jimenez

This case presents an issue of first impression in New Jersey. In Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed.2d 335 (2002), the United States Supreme Court held that the execution of a mentally retarded person violates the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment found in the Eighth Amendment. Atkins left to the states the procedures to be followed by the courts when a capital defendant raises a claim of mental retardation. This case requires that we establish such procedures in New Jersey.

I

Ten-year-old W.C. of Morristown was reported missing after he failed to return…