Saved by the Gavel

On June 20, the Supreme Court effectively halted the execution of
mentally retarded offenders.

In a 6-3 vote, the high court barred the execution of Daryl Renard
Atkins, who was sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of a U.S. airman
in Virginia. Atkins has an IQ of 59, a score that indicates mild
retardation, according to the American Association of Mental
Retardation.

The court's decision was based in part on what the justices termed
a "growing national consensus" that the mentally retarded should not face
execution. A recent Gallup poll found that 83 percent of Americans favor
exempting the retarded from the death penalty.

Japan and Kyrgyzstan are the only countries that continue to
execute mentally retarded criminals, according to a United Nations
report.