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PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release January 27, 2015
Contact: Kristen
McKiernan mckiernan@thearc.org 202.534.3712
Sarah Bal bal@thearc.org
202.600.3494
Execution of Warren Hill
“Shakes the Foundation of our Legal System for People with Intellectual
Disabilities”
Washington, DC
– This evening, the state of Georgia executed Warren Hill, a man who
experts unanimously determined to have intellectual disability, which should
have ruled out the death penalty per a 2002 Supreme Court ruling, Atkins v.
Virginia, and a 2014 Supreme Court ruling, Hall v. Florida. There was a stay
motion and a petition for a writ of certiorari filed to the U.S. Supreme Court
which was denied this evening. Justice Stephen Breyer and Justice Sonia
Sotomayor voted to stay the execution.
“Georgia’s ability to ignore
experts and cross the line drawn by a more than decade-old Supreme Court ruling
shakes the foundation of our legal system for people with intellectual
disabilities. Just last year, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its commitment to
ensuring justice for individuals with intellectual disability, with their
ruling in Hall v. Florida, and it is extremely disappointing that following
this decision justice did not prevail in Georgia.
“The facts in this case are clear
– experts unanimously agreed that Mr. Hill had intellectual disability,
yet the appeals at the state and federal levels were ignored. The state’s
actions in this case are unconscionable,” said Peter Berns, CEO of The
Arc.
Warren Lee Hill, was found by a state court
judge to have an IQ of approximately 70 and to meet the criteria for
intellectual disability overall by a preponderance of the evidence.
Georgia’s “beyond a reasonable doubt” legal standard for proving
intellectual disability claims prevents Mr. Hill from being protected by
Georgia and federal law prohibiting the execution of people with intellectual
disability.
“This is a sad day for our community,
and a shameful one for the courts that allowed this unconstitutional execution
to take place. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Hill’s family and his
legal team. The Arc will continue fighting for the rights of people with
intellectual and developmental disabilities, and in the aftermath of this case
we will only increase our legal advocacy efforts to ensure that the Supreme
Court’s decisions are upheld and justice is appropriately served,”
said Berns.
The Arc has been involved in this case for
years. Nationally The Arc has participated in an amicus brief before the U.S.
Supreme Court and written multiple letters urging clemency on behalf of Mr.
Hill.
In its 2002 Atkins decision, the U.S.
Supreme Court recognized the special risk of wrongful execution faced by
persons with intellectual disability (formerly referred to as “mental
retardation”) and banned the execution of persons with intellectual
disability as cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment. In its
more recent 2014 Hall decision, the U.S. Supreme Court again reinforced its
earlier decision that people with intellectual disabilities not be executed,
requiring that consideration of evidence beyond IQ tests be taken into account
when determining intellectual disability.
The Arc advocates for and serves people
with I/DD, including Down syndrome, autism, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders,
cerebral palsy and other diagnoses. The Arc has a network of nearly 700
chapters across the country promoting and protecting the human rights of people
with I/DD and actively supporting their full inclusion and participation in the
community throughout their lifetimes and without regard to diagnosis.
“This is a sad day for our community,
and a shameful one for the courts that allowed this unconstitutional execution
to take place. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Hill’s family and his
legal team. The Arc will continue fighting for the rights of people with
intellectual and developmental disabilities, and in the aftermath of this case
we will only increase our legal advocacy efforts to ensure that the Supreme
Court’s decisions are upheld and justice is appropriately served,”
said Berns. The Arc has been involved in this case for years. Nationally The
Arc has participated in an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court and
written multiple letters urging clemency on behalf of Mr. Hill. In its 2002
Atkins decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized the special risk of wrongful
execution faced by persons with intellectual disability (formerly referred to
as “mental retardation”) and banned the execution of persons with
intellectual disability as cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth
Amendment. In its more recent 2014 Hall decision, the U.S. Supreme Court again
reinforced its earlier decision that people with intellectual disabilities not
be executed, requiring that consideration of evidence beyond IQ tests be taken
into account when determining intellectual disability. The Arc advocates for
and serves people with I/DD, including Down syndrome, autism, Fetal Alcohol
Spectrum Disorders, cerebral palsy and other diagnoses. The Arc has a network
of nearly 700 chapters across the country promoting and protecting the human
rights of people with I/DD and actively supporting their full inclusion and
participation in the community throughout their lifetimes and without regard to
diagnosis.
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