NCJ Number
123482
Journal
Cincinnati Law Review Volume: 58 Issue: 1 Dated: (1989) Pages: 211-241
Date Published
1989
Length
30 pages
Annotation
An argument is made that the mentally impaired are the functional equivalent of juveniles for the purpose of sentencing in death penalty cases. The history of the use of mitigating circumstances to determine capital sentencing is examined at the Supreme Court, state court, and legislative levels.
Abstract
Individuals under a certain age are precluded from being sentenced to death under the rationale that they possess a lesser capacity to control conduct and to think in long-range terms. This article argues that the mentally impaired are characterized by a lack of self-control and foresight and should be afforded the same exclusion as juveniles when the death penalty is at issue. A line of case decisions are developed to support the use of mental incapacity evidence as a mitigating factor and that the sentencing body must be guided to do so. Evidence is also provided demonstrating the failure of state courts to use mental impairment as a mitigating factor. Consistent legislation at the state and federal level is proposed that would treat mental impairment as an exclusion against the death penalty. 223 footnotes.