In the supreme court case of Atkins VS Virginia…Did Atkins Die?
Eventually his sentence was commuted to life without parole. The Supreme Court ruled that it was an unconstitutional “cruel and unusual punishment” to execute the mentally retarded, and remanded Atkins case back to Virginia for review. On review, the virginia Court determined that his low IQ and test scores were caused not by mental retardation, but by his long use of drugs and alcohol, and that he was not “retarded” as defined by law. They therefore re-sentenced him to death. Later, however, his sentence was commuted as part of a plea deal after evidence showed up that the DA had hidden mitigating evidence in the first trial.
