Lawyers: Georgia man’s death sentence is unconstitutional
2 years, 7 months ago

Lawyers: Georgia man’s death sentence is unconstitutional

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — Lawyers for a Georgia man whose execution was put on hold by a judge this week are arguing that he is ineligible for execution because he has cognitive impairments that cause him to function like a young child or someone with intellectual disability. Lawyers for Virgil Delano Presnell Jr. said in a filing with the Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday that he is a “cognitively disabled man” whose execution is prohibited by the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that the execution of intellectually disabled people is unconstitutional, and Presnell’s lawyers argue that includes people like him with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Also Monday, Presnell’s lawyers filed a petition in Butts County Superior Court challenging the constitutionality of his sentence based on his alleged cognitive impairments. Presnell’s lawyers’ filing Wednesday asks the state Supreme Court to find that Wilson was incorrect and to send the case back to him for discovery and a hearing on the petition.

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History of this topic

Texas man who claimed intellectual disability is executed for 1997 killing of female jogger
4 months, 2 weeks ago

Texas man who claimed intellectual disability is executed for 1997 killing of female jogger

Associated Press  

HUNTSVILLE, Texas — A Texas man who claimed an intellectual disability in a late attempt at a reprieve was executed Wednesday evening for the killing of a woman who was jogging near her Houston home more than 27 years ago. Hours before the scheduled execution time, the U.S. Supreme Court declined a defense request to intervene after lower courts had …

Clemency rejected for man scheduled to be 1st person executed in Georgia in more than 4 years
9 months ago

Clemency rejected for man scheduled to be 1st person executed in Georgia in more than 4 years

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — Georgia’s parole board has rejected clemency for a condemned man set to die Wednesday night, clearing the way for the state’s first execution in more than four years. After a hearing held behind closed doors, the Georgia Parole Board denied Pye’s request for clemency, the agency announced late Tuesday. Pye’s lawyers called the man’s trial “a shocking relic …

Appeals Court weighs death row inmate’s disability claims
2 years, 1 month ago

Appeals Court weighs death row inmate’s disability claims

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Attorneys for Tennessee death row inmate Byron Black told a state appeals court on Tuesday that he should not be executed because he is intellectually disabled. However, the defendant cannot file a new disability claim “if the issue of whether the defendant has an intellectual disability has been previously adjudicated on the merits.” Senior Assistant Attorney General …

Tennessee DA seeks death sentence commutation, AG against
2 years, 1 month ago

Tennessee DA seeks death sentence commutation, AG against

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee’s conservative attorney general and Nashville’s liberal district attorney are at odds over whether a death row inmate is intellectually disabled and consequently should not be executed. A defendant cannot file a new disability claim “if the issue of whether the defendant has an intellectual disability has been previously adjudicated on the merits.” Nonetheless, Black filed a …

Execution for Georgia man who killed girl temporarily stayed
2 years, 7 months ago

Execution for Georgia man who killed girl temporarily stayed

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — A judge on Monday temporarily delayed the execution of a Georgia man who was scheduled to die Tuesday for killing an 8-year-old girl 46 years ago. The lawsuit filed on behalf of the Federal Defender Program, which represents Presnell, alleges the agreement said that, with one named exception, executions wouldn’t resume until six months after three conditions had …

Lawyer says Georgia man set for execution should be spared
2 years, 7 months ago

Lawyer says Georgia man set for execution should be spared

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — The life of a Georgia man set to be executed Tuesday for killing an 8-year-old girl should be spared, his lawyer argues, explaining that her client has significant cognitive impairments that likely contributed to his crimes and has suffered horrific abuse in prison. Virgil Presnell is profoundly disabled,” his attorney Monet Brewerton-Palmer wrote in a clemency application that …

Lawyers seek to delay Georgia execution set for next week
2 years, 7 months ago

Lawyers seek to delay Georgia execution set for next week

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — Lawyers for a Georgia man scheduled to be put to death next week for killing an 8-year-old girl 46 years ago are trying to delay the execution. The lawsuit says the agreement said that, with one named exception, executions wouldn’t resume until six months after three conditions had been met: the expiration of the state’s COVID-19 judicial emergency, …

Georgia sets execution for man convicted 45 years ago
2 years, 7 months ago

Georgia sets execution for man convicted 45 years ago

Associated Press  

ATLANTA — A Georgia man convicted of killing an 8-year-old girl and raping a 10-year-old girl more than 45 years ago is scheduled to be executed next month, state officials said. Presnell staked out a Cobb County elementary school on May 3, 1976, and saw a 10-year-old girl walking home on a wooded trail. She described Presnell and his car …

Judge won’t halt execution over intellectual disability
2 years, 8 months ago

Judge won’t halt execution over intellectual disability

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A judge on Tuesday dismissed a motion to declare a Tennessee death row inmate intellectually disabled, a move that would have prohibited his upcoming execution. The 45-page decision comes despite agreement between Nashville’s district attorney and Black’s lawyers that he is intellectually disabled and should not be put to death. Black’s attorneys had argued the 65-year-old should …

DA: Intellectual disability should prevent inmate execution
2 years, 9 months ago

DA: Intellectual disability should prevent inmate execution

Associated Press  

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville’s lead prosecutor says he agrees with defense attorneys that a death row inmate is intellectually disabled and should not face execution. The district attorney’s statements came in a filing responding to a motion by Black’s attorneys, who are asking a judge to determine that the inmate has an intellectual disability that prohibits his execution. The district …

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