Atkins+v.+Virginia

=Atkins v. Virginia= Mr. Correll Zach Wolf, Billy Stanley, & Josh Minoski

Facts about Atkins v. Virginia 1. Daryl Renard Atkins, was convicted of abduction, armed robbery, and capital murder, and sentenced to death. 2. At approximately midnight on August 16, 1996, Atkins and William Jones, armed with a semiautomatic handgun, abducted Eric Nesbitt. 3. Robbed Nesbitt the money on him. 4. Drove him to an automated teller machine in his pickup truck where cameras recorded their withdrawal of additional cash. 5. Then took him to an isolated location where he was shot eight times and killed. 6. In the penalty phase, the defense relied on one witness, Dr. Evan Nelson, a forensic psychologist who had evaluated Atkins before trial and concluded that he was “mildly mentally retarded.” 7. His conclusion was based on interviews with people who knew Atkins, a review of school and court records, and the administration of a standard intelligence test. 8. Atkins had a full scale IQ of 59. 9. The jury sentenced Atkins to death. 10. The State presented an expert rebuttal witness, Dr. Stanton Samenow, who expressed the opinion that Atkins was not mentally retarded, but rather was of “average intelligence, at least,”. 11. The Jury again sentenced him to death.

Narritve of Atkins v. Virginia

Daryl Renard Atkins, was convicted of abduction, armed robbery, and capital murder, and sentenced to death. At approximately midnight on August 16, 1996, Atkins and William Jones, armed with a semiautomatic handgun, abducted Eric Nesbitt, robbed him of the money on his person, drove him to an automated teller machine in his pickup truck where cameras recorded their withdrawal of additional cash, then took him to an isolated location where he was shot eight times and killed. In the penalty phase, the defense relied on one witness, Dr. Evan Nelson, a forensic psychologist who had evaluated Atkins before trial and concluded that he was “mildly mentally retarded.” His conclusion was based on interviews with people who knew Atkins, a review of school and court records, and the administration of a standard intelligence test which indicated that Atkins had a full scale IQ of 59. The jury sentenced Atkins to death, but the Virginia Supreme Court ordered a second sentencing hearing because the trial court had used a misleading verdict form. At the resentencing, Dr. Nelson again testified. The State presented an expert rebuttal witness, Dr. Stanton Samenow, who expressed the opinion that Atkins was not mentally retarded, but rather was of “average intelligence, at least,” and diagnosable as having antisocial personality disorder. The jury again sentenced Atkins to death.

[|Atkins v. Virginia Facts]

IQ Scores
 * Over 140 - Genius or near genius
 * 120 - 140 - Very superior intelligence
 * 110 - 119 - Superior intelligence
 * 90 - 109 - Normal or average intelligence
 * 80 - 89 - Dullness
 * 70 - 79 - Borderline deficiency
 * Under 70 - Definite feeble-mindedness

2002 Supreme Court Justices

Virginia

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