I have a confession to make.
Later. First, background.
As a new lawyer, I was assigned to a death row appeal that my firm was handling pro bono. The inmate was incarcerated in the Deep South. There was little doubt that he committed the crime for which he was convicted. We were not hoping to exonerate him.
There was also little doubt that he was mentally retarded. A Supreme Court case called Atkins v. Virginia (and, one would argue, common sense), held that execution of mentally retarded criminals is "cruel and unusual punishment" prohibited by the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution. We hoped to save his life.
I confess - I do not know if the state eventually, obstinately and senselessly, put to death my troubled, developmentally disabled client. And I don't want to know.
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