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Law & Psychiatry: Mental Retardation and the Death Penalty: After Atkins

Dr. Appelbaum, who is editor of this column, is the Elizabeth K. Dollard Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine, and Law, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University. Send correspondence to him at New York State Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Dr., Unit 122, New York, NY 10032 (email: psa21{at}columbia.edu).

In Atkins v. Virginia the U.S. Supreme Court declared execution of persons with mental retardation to constitute cruel and unusual punishment, and thus to be unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. However, the Court left all considerations regarding how to implement the decision explicitly to the states. Since Atkins was decided in 2002, legislatures, courts, and mental health experts have struggled with its implementation, highlighting the complexities that can arise when the courts base legal rules on clinical findings. This column reviews the Atkins case and considers the challenges associated with a clinical determination that can have life-or-death consequences for capital defendants.

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