What happened in Atkins v Virginia?
On June 20, 2002 the US Supreme Court made a landmark decision, reversing a former statutes founded in the case of Penry v. Lynaugh in 1989. In Atkins v Virginia, based on the articulation of the Eighth Amendment, the decision of the Court was to prohibit the execution of the mentally challenged. The 6-3 decision concluded that the execution of mentally challenged individuals is cruel and unusual. Therefore, execution of these individuals would be a direct violation of the eighth amendment which states: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishment inflicted” (Hendrickson, 362). The issue of the execution of mentally challenged individuals was first addressed in the case of Penry v Lynaugh in 1989. In a 5-4 decision the Supreme Court ruled that the execution of mentally challenged individual is not a violation of the eighth amendment. The APA found that there were two principle reasons that led to this decision: (1) the disabilitie
