Bobby v. Bies

In Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U. S. 304 (2002), this Court held that the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of “cruel and unusual punishments” bars execution of mentally retarded offenders. Prior to Atkins, the Court had determined that mental retardation merited consideration as a mitigating factor, but did not bar imposition of the death penalty. See Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U. S. 302 (1989).

In 1992, nearly a decade before the Court’s decision in Atkins, respondent Michael Bies was tried and convicted in Ohio of the aggravated murder, kidnaping, and attempted rape of a ten-year-old boy. Instructed at…