[quote="Big Daddy Weaver"]That the two men who pulled the trigger got Life and she gets Death...does that bother you Ed?
Ed: Yea Arron, that bothers me. Apparently it bothered one of the two men also.
AW: Or what about the fact that her IQ is 72?
Ed: What about it 72 is only mild retardation on the highest scales. That is the top level. The 4 levels are Mild, Moderate, severe, and profound.
Here is the offical profile for Mild Levels of Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability
Note the IQ is between 52 and 69
Ability at Adult Age (21 Years and Older)
Mild 52-69 Can develop social and communication skills; motor coordination is slightly impaired; often not diagnosed until later age Can learn up to about the 6th-grade level by late teens; can be expected to learn appropriate social skills. Can usually achieve enough social and vocational skills for self-support; may need guidance and assistance during times of unusual social or economic stress
AW: The Supreme Court ruled that the execution of the mentally retarded is cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the 8th Amendment. Courts have said that it is unconstitutional to execute anyone with a 70 or below IQ. Lewis apparently took the IQ test twice: scoring 73 and 70 placing her in the "borderline intellectual functioning" category. Three different psychology experts have declared that she suffers from "dependent personality disorder" making it difficult for her to carry out simple daily tasks without the assistance of someone else.
Ed: Given that Lewis is out of the range for mental retardation this is a moot argument. Nut look again at what can be expected of those in the mild classification. And Aaron I know psychology "experts" who will say about any thing a lawyer scrips out for them. To be persuaded by the three that you reference I would have to know a lot more about them, their professional training, their occupational history, ect. I once worked with a fellow who's testimony as an "Expert witness" regarding a "Hands test" was used to get a woman a greatly reduced charge. This woman had led a group of teens to torture a girl in her care and the girl died. It turns out the "hands test" was a thesis project that was later refused by his peer review group.
Ed: Thanks to Haruo for the catch I did men to type "But" rather than Calling Aaron a nut.
AW: Pretty compelling to me. You'd think that folks like McDonnell who claim to hold the Constitution in high esteem would choose to err on the side of caution with regard to the 8th Amendment.
Ed: Aaron I worked for a couple years in a facility for the care and treatment of mentally retarded males 16to 22 who had been adjudicated as guilty of criminal activity above the level of misdemeanors.
Our clients had been been convicted of every thing from theft to Murder. The population covered all four of the levels listed above. I have no doubt that our mildly retarded clients including the two who had committed murder knew right from wrong. Both tested above 66. When they reached 22 they where placed the general population of a state prison.
And What does this have to do with McDonnell. Isn't she in Delaware?