Capital cases; mental retardation. (HB1720)
Introduced By
Del. Patrick Hope (D-Arlington)
Progress
✓ |
Introduced |
✗ |
Passed Committee |
☐ |
Passed House |
☐ |
Passed Senate |
☐ |
Signed by Governor |
☐ |
Became Law |
Description
Capital cases; mental retardation. Requires that the results of an intelligence test given in the process of determining whether a capital case defendant is mentally retarded must be reported as a range of scores calculated by adding to and subtracting from the defendant's test score the standard error of measurement for such test. Read the Bill »
Outcome
Bill Has Failed
History
Date | Action |
---|---|
01/12/2015 | Committee |
01/12/2015 | Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/14/15 15103115D |
01/12/2015 | Referred to Committee for Courts of Justice |
01/16/2015 | Impact statement from VCSC (HB1720) |
01/20/2015 | Assigned Courts sub: Criminal Law |
01/26/2015 | Subcommittee recommends laying on the table |
02/10/2015 | Left in Courts of Justice |
Comments
The ACLU of Virginia strongly supports legislation that would bring Virginia’s intellectual disability threshold vis-à-vis eligibility for the death penalty in line with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Hall v. Florida. The Court found that Florida’s use of a hard 70 IQ cutoff was unconstitutional. Virginia uses the same hard 70 IQ cutoff. While the ACLU of Virginia continues to advocate for death penalty repeal, we also support legislation designed to ensure better procedural safeguards for intellectually disabled defendants accused of a capital offense.
The ACLU of Virginia strongly supports legislation that would bring Virginia’s intellectual disability threshold vis-à-vis eligibility for the death penalty in line with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Hall v. Florida. The Court found that Florida’s use of a hard 70 IQ cutoff was unconstitutional. Virginia uses the same hard 70 IQ cutoff. While the ACLU of Virginia continues to advocate for death penalty repeal, we also support legislation designed to ensure better procedural safeguards for intellectually disabled defendants accused of a capital offense.