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| Oklahoma House Halts Bill to Ban Executions of Retarded |
| By The Oklahoman |
| Published: 03/11/2002 |
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Oklahoma State House members voted mainly along party lines recently to defeat a bill that would have banned the execution of mentally retarded murderers. In a 50-46 vote, Republicans were joined by a few Democrats in defeating House Bill 2635 by Rep. Opio Toure, D-Oklahoma City. They said it would chip away at Oklahoma's ability to impose the death penalty for appropriate crimes. Opponents said Oklahoma law already protects convicted murderers from death if their defense attorneys can show during the punishment phase of trials that mental illness played a role in the crime. Toure, however, said, 'No state executes someone who is 9 to 12 years of age, and no state should execute anyone who only has the mental capabilities of that age level.' Had it been approved, the law would have banned the state from executing anyone found guilty of murder if it could be shown the defendant suffered from a 'severe developmental disability' when the crime occurred. The proposed law, however, would have required such defendants to be able to show they were diagnosed with the problem before the age of 18 -- regardless of their age when the crime took place. A severe developmental disability would have consisted of anyone with an IQ of 70 or lower and significant limitations in two or more of these areas - communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health, safety, academics and leisure and work skills. |
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