ATLANTA – The state House of Representatives voted unanimously Tuesday to make it easier for defendants in death penalty cases to establish intellectual disability as a defense.
Georgia is the only state among the 27 that allow capital punishment to execute convicted murderers with intellectual disabilities, defined as having an IQ below 70.
“This will be that fix,” state Rep. Bill Werkheiser, R-Glennville, chief sponsor of House Bill 123, said on the House floor before Tuesday’s 172-0 vote.
Under Werkheiser’s bill, the burden of proof to establish a defendant’s claim of an intellectual disability would be eased from “beyond a reasonable doubt” to “by a preponderance of the evidence.”
The legislation also would remove the determination of whether a defendant in a capital case has an intellectual disability from the guilt phase of the trial. Instead, that determination would take place following a pre-trial hearing.
“This is not getting rid of the death penalty,” said Rep. Tyler Paul Smith, R-Bremen, whose House Judiciary Committee (Non-Civil) took up the bill. “This ensures our criminal justice system operates with fairness and integrity.”
Werkheiser said he received a letter signed by more than 100 religious organizations endorsing his bill. It also got the backing of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities.
The bill now moves to the state Senate.