Post by thinkinkmesa on Aug 18, 2012 15:57:26 GMT -5
Bad science behind unconstitutional US executions
When US courts refuse to accept problems associated with IQ tests it can make the difference between execution and life imprisonment
FEW topics invoke such passionate feelings in the US as the death penalty, especially when applied to convicts with the intellectual capacity of children.
In 2002, the US Supreme Court ruled that executing people with an intellectual disability was unconstitutional, citing a "national consensus" against it. Unfortunately the ruling failed to end the practice, in that it left it up to individual states and courts to decide how to assess intellectual disability.
More;
www.newscientist.com/article/dn22179-bad-science-behind-unconstitutio
When US courts refuse to accept problems associated with IQ tests it can make the difference between execution and life imprisonment
FEW topics invoke such passionate feelings in the US as the death penalty, especially when applied to convicts with the intellectual capacity of children.
In 2002, the US Supreme Court ruled that executing people with an intellectual disability was unconstitutional, citing a "national consensus" against it. Unfortunately the ruling failed to end the practice, in that it left it up to individual states and courts to decide how to assess intellectual disability.
More;
www.newscientist.com/article/dn22179-bad-science-behind-unconstitutio