Atkins Vs. Virgini Case Study
Mandeeppal Multani (JOHN)
Professor Bernadette p. Mcpherson
COR 201.07 Atkins v. Virginia
Citation: 536 U.S. 304 (2002)
Facts of the Case: On August 16, 1996, after a day of drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, 18 year old Daryl Atkins and friend William Jones walked to a convenience store and abducted Eric Nesbitt, an airman from the nearby Langley Air Force Base. When abducted Eric Nesbitt, had 60 dollars in his wallet, Atkins then drove Nesbitt in his vehicle, pickup truck, to a nearby ATM forcing him to make a $200 withdraw. Cameras recorded the transaction. Then Atkins and Williams drove Nesbitt to an isolated location and killed him by shooting him eight times with a semiautomatic handgun. After be captured by the local authorities, convicted of abduction, armed robbery, and capital murder, Daryl Atkins was sentenced to death. Important to note is that according to Dr. Even Nelson, a forensic psychologist, Atkins is mildly mentally retarded. This finding of the psychologist was concluded from an interview with Atkins and others who knew him, …show more content…
The court previously establish that the death penalty was inappropriate for the crime of rape in Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584 (1977), or for those convicted of felony murder who neither themselves killed, attempted to kill, or intended to kill in Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782 (1982). The Court found that the Eighth Amendment forbids the imposition of the death penalty in these cases because legislatures had recently addressed the matter have rejected the death penalty for these offenders. Moreover, the Court defer the judgments of those bodies. The court ruled 6-3 that executing mentally retarded individuals violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments, but states can define who is mentally
Professor Bernadette p. Mcpherson
COR 201.07 Atkins v. Virginia
Citation: 536 U.S. 304 (2002)
Facts of the Case: On August 16, 1996, after a day of drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana, 18 year old Daryl Atkins and friend William Jones walked to a convenience store and abducted Eric Nesbitt, an airman from the nearby Langley Air Force Base. When abducted Eric Nesbitt, had 60 dollars in his wallet, Atkins then drove Nesbitt in his vehicle, pickup truck, to a nearby ATM forcing him to make a $200 withdraw. Cameras recorded the transaction. Then Atkins and Williams drove Nesbitt to an isolated location and killed him by shooting him eight times with a semiautomatic handgun. After be captured by the local authorities, convicted of abduction, armed robbery, and capital murder, Daryl Atkins was sentenced to death. Important to note is that according to Dr. Even Nelson, a forensic psychologist, Atkins is mildly mentally retarded. This finding of the psychologist was concluded from an interview with Atkins and others who knew him, …show more content…
The court previously establish that the death penalty was inappropriate for the crime of rape in Coker v. Georgia, 433 U.S. 584 (1977), or for those convicted of felony murder who neither themselves killed, attempted to kill, or intended to kill in Enmund v. Florida, 458 U.S. 782 (1982). The Court found that the Eighth Amendment forbids the imposition of the death penalty in these cases because legislatures had recently addressed the matter have rejected the death penalty for these offenders. Moreover, the Court defer the judgments of those bodies. The court ruled 6-3 that executing mentally retarded individuals violates the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishments, but states can define who is mentally