The case that started the current wave of court case hearings, issues, appeals, etc. was Atkins v Virginia (2002). The U.S. Supreme Court decided that the Eight Amendment to the U. S. Constitution forbids cruel and unusual punishment, and was the primary basis for deciding that individuals with mental retardation (deficits in both intelligence and adaptive behavior) could not receive capital punishment (death penalty).A copy of the official decision can be found here. It is also listed under the "court rulings" section of this blog.
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