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Article: In Bevy of cases on mental retardation, Oklahoma reflects divided judgments.(Rulings)
- Article from:
- Mental Health Law Report
- Article date:
- February 1, 2006
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The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals provides a window into the way courts can interpret mental retardation defenses in the wake of the Supreme Court's Atkins decision striking down capital punishment for defendants with retardation.
In three cases, the Oklahoma court threw out death sentences of people who sought a retardation defense and changed the sentences to life in prison without parole. One of the five judges, Gary Lumpkin, vigorously dissented in each case, and a second, David Lewis, agreed to reverse the sentences but suggested remanding the cases for new trials rather than changing the sentences.
Dissent Was Consistent
Lumpkin ...