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TEXAS AUTHORITIES HAVE executed a man found guilty of killing a police informant in 1992 after a last-ditch appeal to the US Supreme Court was rejected.
Lawyers for 54-year-old Marvin Wilson had argued that he should not be eligible for capital punishment because he had been found to have an IQ of 61, below the generally accepted minimum competency standard of 70.
However the Supreme Court rejected the last-ditch appeal late on Tuesday afternoon and the execution by lethal injection took place shortly afterwards at the state prison in Huntsville in Texas.
Earlier court decisions had ruled that the IQ claim was based on one possibly faulty test and was not backed up by other assessments or tests.
Wilson was sentenced to death in 1994 for the shooting dead of a 21-year-old who had identified him to police as a drug dealer. Wilson never admitted to the crime and maintained that he had not committed it. The Huffington Post reports that no forensic evidence or eyewitness testimony established the identity of the shooter.
Wilson spoke to his family members briefly from the gurney.
“Y’all do understand that I came here a sinner and leaving a saint,” he said. “Take me home Jesus, take me home Lord, take me home Lord”.
- Additional reporting by Associated Press
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So basically he didn’t deserve to be punished for murder because he was stupid??
Stupidity and intellectual disability are VERY different things. If this guy did have an intellectual disability there is every possibility that his reasoning processes and therefore his ability to recognise the legal repercussions of his actions were impaired. I’m not saying that people with disabilities should get off scot free, at all. But it’s not black and white.
“Mental retardation (MR) is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors. It has historically been defined as an Intelligence Quotient score under 70″
“Earlier court decisions had ruled that the IQ claim was based on one possibly faulty test and was not backed up by other assessments or tests.” If this was their best hand, they would have backe it up with proper tests by doctors to see if this man was Stupid (low IQ) or had a Mental Disability.
Seems like a last ditch attempt from reading the story
So now the state has taken a life and that puts them in a superior position? Think the state is primitive . Lowering the state to status of being worse than a murderer can never b right. Two wrongs don’t make it right .
He was being punished, life in prison. Not like the fake sentence we dish out.
@ Warren.. stupid comment
His lawyer didn’t say he shouldn’t be punished , but shouldn’t be executed.
What worries me is the article says that there was no forensic evidence or eyewitness testimony established the identity of the shooter. He never admitted to the crime and maintained that he had not committed it and yet he was found guilty. What made them so 100% that they could take his life- execution is very permanent. As for the IQ test, the court rejected the appeal on one “faulty” test, it’s a man’s life here do a retest.
Have read elsewhere that there are witnesses to a confession he gave to his wife and 2 other people when he was telling them his accomplice did not kill the victim. Accomplice got life
Well if the evidence is just a confession, then his IQ is very important: ability to understand what he was admitting to, to distinguish right from wrong, fact from story etc.
The death penalty is barbaric, those who carry it out are murderers themselves. Two wrongs do not make a right.
This particular case is made even worse by the fact that this man clearly had an intellectual disability.
Kill those murderers. All of them.
Irony?
Only issue here is Texas takes to long to do the business that’s unduly cruel in my eyes. Once sentenced to death should be carried out next morning.
And why wrong with hanging? Does the job and saves on all these chemicals
So a low IQ means it is less justified to execute a murderer? Try telling that to the families of the victims!!!!
So murder can be justified once it is the State doing the murdering ?
If he really has the mind of a child, then he should be judged as a child.
It’s important, because it relates to his intent. He may not have been fully aware of what he was doing.
OK Tony, using your logic, then the family of Marvin Wilson have also been wronged. They did nothing wrong either but a member of their family has been killed.
Executing someone with a mental disability is disgusting. I feel sick after reading about this.
Yes Mick, The state propped up by the will of the majority!
@ Ignoreland, Revenge isn’t justice
@Joseph McGranaghan, I never said justice was revenge, nor would I ever say that.
My argument is that this “somebody please think of the families” is a poor “appeal to emotion” logical fallacy upon which to take someone’s life away, when you can equally use the same argument to reject the death penalty.
The only possible argument in favour of the death penalty would be if you could prove it does have a deterrent effect, but it doesn’t as has been shown! And in any case I would still oppose the death penalty as I think it’s abhorrent and barbaric and spits in the face of any concept of human rights.
No man has the right to take the life of another man!
Neither should a state
An eye for an eye. Bible belt America is closer to Islam than they’d ever care to admit.
The bible belt “cult” are brainwashed by the right… ” an eye for an eye”
This would not happen to a person with a low IQ in Ireland – he would be made Taoiseach.
Having a “low IQ” does not equal mental retardation. Although I wouldn’t be in 100% agreement with death penalty, at least the USA respect the severity of murder unlike Ireland where your back on the streets in 10 years or less/more in some cases. Nobody gives a second thought to the victim just that someone with a low IQ is getting the death penalty. More support for the victim and his family, give him the thought that his murderer denied him
You are totally correct Cathriona.
Unfortunately as well, Wilson’s biggest disability was that he was a black man in Texas.
Who murdered someone. Did his being a black man in Texas have something to do with him murdering someone? I must have missed that in the article.
No Patrick, that’s not the argument I was making at all. Rather his race is relevant at sentencing and why he got the death penalty not life in prison. There are a disproportionate percentage of black people both imprisoned and on death row in the USA.
http://www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/raceinc.html
http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/death-penalty-black-and-white-who-lives-who-dies-who-decides
They don’t put them in prison without reason. There are a disproportionate percentage of black people in prison because they tend to commit and get convicted of more crimes.
@Wayne Kerr, Are you saying that black people are more inclined to commit crime than other races?? REALLY?! This is the 21st Century.
You have to remember that not every crime is detected, not every detected crime is solved, and not every solved crime is punished. Along this chain there is human involvement in the detection, prosecution and sentencing of individuals. It is in this process that racism can play a factor. This is what the statistics show, not that black people are more criminal than white people.
I don’t think he was mentally retarded,just a little bit thick ,maybe just a ploy by his lawyers not to have him executed.
I don’t care how stupid a person is, they have to know that death causes huge loss and pain to the family of the victim, seems nowadays there is an excuse or “disorder” to explain or rationalise ones actions, murder is murder no matter what excuse is offered up
There is a huge difference between a stupid person and a person with an intellectual disability!!!!
Crime is crime, regardless of IQ. Those guilty deserve to be punished to the greatest extent the State allows.
This is not about being PC.
I believe, regardless of intellect the death penalty is wrong.
We are teaching an eye for an eye which leaves everybody blind.
The problem with IQ tests is that they aren’t an accurate method of measuring intelligence. They are inherently biased. Also, intelligence has proved notoriously difficult to define. If you can’t define what intelligence is supposed to be, how can you properly measure it?
According to one article I read this morning, (sorry don’t have the link to hand), the Supreme Court decision stated that the Wilson showed that he was capable of planning, organising and carrying out advanced actions. All of which the court took into account as evidence against his being mentally retarded. Whether he was mentally retarded or not is not as clear cut as his lawyer, or the article would like you to believe.
All of which is moot, it’s still no excuse to execute the man. He may have committed one of the worst crimes that a human can commit, but that doesn’t give *anyone* the right to deprive him of his life. His freedom, yes. His life no.
Chris, I am not from any PC brigade. I am however the sister of a person with an intellectual disability and I find the term “mental retardation” highly offensive.
Venessa, could you explain why ‘intellectually disabled’ is an OK phrase to use but ‘mentally retarded’ isn’t?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intellectual_disability read the first line.
Mental retardation (MR) is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors
Intellectual disability is a broad concept encompassing various intellectual deficits, including mental retardation (MR), deficits too mild to properly qualify as MR, various specific conditions (such as specific learning disability), and problems acquired later in life through acquired brain injuries or neurodegenerative diseases like dementia. Intellectual disabilities may appear at any age.
There is a difference. I’m sorry the term offends you, but I am not using it is as a derogatory term. I see that the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disability (AAIDD) and probably others, are trying to get it changed so ID covers everything.
Just like the word retarded became derogatory (it wasn’t when first used), I will also assume that any other term used to decribe it will at some point be used in a derogatory since also. The cycle will never end..
The tradition of state murder in the US goes back to the theory that some crimes are so terrible that the people have no way to punish them correctly, so they send them to their maker for him to deal with. With that kind of logic what would you expect to happen.
When its sanctioned by the state, its not murder.
Death is a justifiable punishment for some crimes.
It’s bad enough that criminals don’t want to take responsibility for their actions, but the fact that the ‘bleeding heart brigade’ element of society thinks they shouldn’t either is worse!
State sanctioned murder is still murder, in fact some of the worst crimes against humanity have been perpetrated by one state or another. The state is not infallible, nor does a democratic mandate justify murdering whomever you see fit.
PC Brigade alert – as John said its an accepted medical term/condition.
Strange my reply was too the post about using the word retarded – they all seem to be removed now. PC Brigade working for The Journal now. Mental Retardation is a real thing its not slander or an abusive term.
Also seem to be the point the defence was trying to make
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_retardation#IQ_below_70
The Journal don’t obviously believe so as they deleted my post….
No it isn’t.
There is a huge campaign on to remove it from everyday use.
It is insulting to people with intellectual disabilities and there family members.
I wouldn’t expect anyone who isn’t related to a someone with a condition to understand though.
What other words Eoin should we campaign to remove from daily use? Perhaps some people with dyslexia find the term dyslexic offensive, should we campaign to have it removed also?
“retarded”term no longer used thank God it’s ” “intellectually disabled”term now used.the same as “lunatic” and”idiot”removed from people with mental health issues.
Flaming troll. Their freedom is taken away for the rest of their lives. Isn’t this enough? Out after ten years does not happen in Texas or Cali or any other capital murder state. They cannot leave the prison ,cannot see family unless they have privileges etc,don’t get hot meals in this prison. Fact. Can not have relationships ,can not have fresh air unless they are allowed outside. Is this not enough for the rest of their lives?
So if I kill you am wrong but if the state kills me they are right because they have more power? Cop on
Got a great IQ for drug dealing and and killing others but none when it’s time to face his reality… Good for him. He got what he deserve.
Fully agree.
This angers me.why leave him in prison for years only to kill him in the end? Isn’t life imprisonment enough ?
It is still murder,just because the government wants to end his life doesn’t mean they are right.
This is barbaric ,another poor black man of lower intelligence murdered by the state.
Homicide will be on his death certificate. Disgraceful
Donal I have tried to post a reply but my phone is playing up and I’m rushing out the door. Briefly I just happen to find that term very negative, old fashioned and offensive. I don’t think it had a place in society. I also prefer not to use labels but sometimes for different reasons it is necessary to do so and on these ocassions I prefer the term intellectually disabled as I find it is not as negative as the other one.
It is not a term used in legislation or policy documents and it is not a term used in our household. The only people I hear using it these days are old doctors and the odd older person and I will always correct anyone that uses it in my company. I find most other people who use it do do out of ignorance.
Ye thats right, Im not diabetic – I’m hormonally deficient.
Evil triumphs again.
Texas has serious issues of breaching human rights….
Another one bites the dust.
So you don’t have to be smart to get yourself executed in Texas, you can be stupid as well, maybe it has something to do with equality.
Every country should empower the death penalty.
Had he been a rich person he could have bought enough representation to get his sentence reduced all the way down to Probation or bribed one juror for a mistrial..
Sorry about the replication of posts, staff, please delete two of them.
Why anyone would give politicians the legal basis to take a citizens life for breaking a law is beyond me. Who trusts them that much?
The US has 5% of the world’s population, but a quarter of the world’s prisoners. They are ahead of China, for god’s sake! One in a hundred US adults are incarcerated – what a brutal and brutalising society? And when you consider that states differ in their legislation, that means that some states will incarcerate MORE than that percentage of their citizens. Shocking.
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