Court Decision: Schoenwetter v FL (2010) - an attempt to leap the Atkins "slippery slope"

Here is a very interesting attempt to move the "slippery slope" of Atkins a long way---more of an attempt to leap the entire slope in one huge step.

The case is Schoenwetter v FL (2010). This was a combination case - an appeal and a separate petition for a state writ of habeas corpus. The relevant discussion begins on page 49. Schoenwetter argued that under both Atkins and Roper, that his execution would be unconstitutional. Based on a quick skim there would appear to be two obvious problems. First he wasn't under 18 (Roper decision) at the time of the crime. Second his Full Scale IQ was 123---50+ IQ points above the generally accepted MR/ID cut score of 70 (plus or minus 5 pts for SEM). This might be the highest IQ-Atkins claim seen to date.

Schoenwetter apparently suffered from Asperger's, ADHD and some type of frontal lobe brain dysfunction. But, as with the other cases that have attempted to morph Atkins to some other condition(s), the court rejected the argument.

I will be adding this case to the ICDP Court Decisions blogroll, along with a few others I've promised, this morning. Thanks again to Kevin Foley for forwarding this very interesting decision to my attention.

intelligence intelligence testing Atkins cases ICDP blog psychology school psychology neuropsychology forensice psychology criminal psychology criminal justice death penalty capital punishment ABA IQ tests IQ scores adaptive behavior AAIDD mental retardation intellectual disability Aspergers ADHD Schoenwetter v Florida


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The "slippery slope" of Atkins. What disability will be next? Trevino v Texas (2008,2009) FAS defense.

Many legal scholars believe that the US Supreme Court's Atkins MR/ID decision created a considerable "mess" when it handed the details of implementing the Atkins decision to the individual states. As has been documented repeatedly at this blog, the quality of psychological evidence considered, variability in definition and criteria, and the courts handling of the evidence and criteria has varied dramatically.

In addition, the Atkins ruling has the potential to create the proverbial "slippery slope."  Although not dealing with capital punishment per se, there was a recent attempt to have other disabilities considered as mitigating factors in criminal defense trials.  Previously mentioned at this blog was a case of autism.  Thanks to Kevin Foley, I am now aware that fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) recently entered the arena of federal habeas corpus petitions.

The specific case is Trevino versus Texas(2008, 2009).  Although the defendant's IQ scores were within "low average" range (not in the range associated with mild mental retardation), the argument was made that individuals with FAS possess many of the same behavioral characteristics as those listed as mitigating factors and culpability for individuals with intellectual disabilities in the original Atkins decision. Athough the petition was not successful, it represents a possible "tip of the iceberg" for future petitions for other disabilities.

Many legal scholars believe that the loose ends left by the original Atkins decision, which are now resulting in cases such as Trevino's, will eventually result in SCOTUS needing to revisit Atkins "to clean up the mess."

Cases like Trevino's may become more common. And, many of the disabilities that may be candidates for this type of defense are far more complex and have much more subjective diagnostic criteria than MR/ID. If the courts thought that defining and identifying individuals with intellectual disabilities was hard, the can of worms will be much messier for disabilities such as autism, aspergers syndrome, FAS, to mention just a few.

Technorati Tags: psychology, forensic psychology, forensic psychiatry, neuropsychology, school psychology, criminal psychology, criminal defense, American Bar Association, mental retardation, intellectual disabilities, autism, fetal alcohol syndrome, MR, FAS, ID, AAIDD, slippery slope, Atkins cases, Supreme Court