Government

Supreme Court Okays Death Penalty For ‘Low IQ’ Criminal

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Tuesday evening execution of a Texas death row inmate whose lawyers say should be ineligible for the death penalty because of his low IQ.

Marvin Wilson, 54, was sentenced to death for killing a police informant two decades ago. The high court denied his request for a stay of execution less than two hours before his scheduled 6 p.m. lethal injection.

Marvin Wilson, Death Row Inmate With IQ of 61, To Be Executed Following Supreme Court Ruling Today

Marvin Wilson

In their appeal to the high court, his attorneys pointed to a psychological test conducted in 2004 that pegged his IQ at 61, below the generally accepted minimum competency standard of 70. But lower courts agreed with state attorneys who questioned the test’s validity.

Attorneys for the state argue that Wilson‘s claim is based on a single test that may have been faulty and that his mental impairment claim isn’t supported by other tests and assessments of him over the years.

Wilson was convicted of murdering 21-year-old Jerry Williams in November 1992, several days after police seized 24 grams of cocaine from Wilson’s apartment and arrested him. Witnesses testified that Wilson and another man, Andrew Lewis, beat Williams outside of a convenience store in Beaumont, about 80 miles east of Houston. Wilson, who was free on bond, accused Williams of snitching on him about the drugs, they said.

Witnesses said Wilson and Lewis then abducted Williams, and neighborhood residents said they heard a gunshot a short time later. Williams was found dead on the side of a road the next day, wearing only socks, severely beaten and shot in the head and neck at close range.

Wilson was arrested the next day when he reported to his parole officer on a robbery conviction for which he served less than four years of a 20-year prison sentence. It was the second time he had been sent to prison for robbery.

At Wilson’s capital murder trial, Lewis’ wife testified that Wilson confessed to the killing in front of her, her husband and his own wife.

“Don’t be mad at Andrew because Andrew did not do it,” Lewis’ wife said Wilson told them. “I did it.”

Lewis received a life prison term for his involvement.

In Wilson’s Supreme Court appeal, lead lawyer Lee Kovarsky said Wilson’s language and math skills “never progressed beyond an elementary school level,” that he reads and writes below a second-grade level and that he was unable to manage his finances, pay bills or hold down a job.

Marvin Wilson, Death Row Inmate With IQ of 61, To Be Executed Following Supreme Court Ruling Today

A protester holds an anti-death penalty sign outside the Supreme Court

The Supreme Court issued a ruling in 2002 outlawing the execution of the mentally impaired, but left it to states to determine what constitutes mental impairment. Kovarsky argues that Texas is trying to skirt the ban by altering the generally accepted definitions of mental impairment to the point where gaining relief for an inmate is “virtually unobtainable.”

State attorneys say the court left it to states to develop appropriate standards for enforcing the ban and that Texas chose to incorporate a number of factors besides an inmate’s IQ, including the inmate’s adaptive behavior and functioning.

Edward Marshall, a Texas assistant attorney general, said records show Wilson habitually gave less than full effort and “was manipulative and deceitful when it suited his interest,” and that the state considered his ability to show personal independence and social responsibility in making its determinations.

“Considering Wilson’s drug-dealing, street-gambler, criminal lifestyle since an early age, he was obviously competent at managing money, and not having a 9-to-5 job is no critical failure,” Marshall said. “Wilson created schemes using a decoy to screen his thefts, hustled for jobs in the community, and orchestrated the execution of the snitch, demonstrating inventiveness, drive and leadership.”

Wilson‘s lawyers also had argued that additional DNA tests should be conducted on a gray hair from someone white that was found on Williams’ body, suggesting someone else killed him. Wilson, Williams and Lewis are black.

Ed Shettle, the Jefferson County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Wilson, dismissed the theory of another killer as a “red herring.”

“There was some testimony Marvin said: ‘We’re going to show you what happens to snitches around here,’” Shettle said.

Wilson will be the seventh person executed by lethal injection in Texas this year. At least seven other prisoners in the nation’s most active death penalty state have execution dates in the coming months, including one later this month.

UPDATE:

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A Texas man convicted of killing a police informant two decades ago was executed Tuesday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected arguments that he was too mentally impaired to qualify for the death penalty.

Marvin Wilson, 54, was pronounced dead at 6:27 p.m., 14 minutes after his lethal injection began at the state prison in Huntsville. Wilson’s attorneys had argued that he should have been ineligible for capital punishment because of his low IQ.

Comments (75)

1 2
  • KenInIL
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 4:41am

    So how come the liberals can’t apply the same logic to adults that they do to unborn babies?? They are always talking about getting rid of defective fetuses (Down’s syndrome, etc.) but they never want to get rid of defective adults (Jared Loughner, Marvin Wilson, James Holmes, Charles Manson, etc.). Babies are innocents, they mostly give joy, they are neat to watch as the grow up. What use is keeping adults who have proven they can’t play nice around. Can we just tax liberal lawyers to pay for their upkeep?

    Report Post »  
    • loriann12
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 6:23am

      My down Syndrome son tested at 61 on his first IQ test (with an administrator that he liked) and 54 on another one (with an adminisrator that he didn’t like). The first one told me that there were kids with IQ‘s of 61 in the public school system skating by with D’s and C’s and not even in special ed. This notion that 70 is the minimum is not correct. And if my handicapped son could manipulate the results and get a lowered score because he didn’t like the person giving the test, what about a man fighting for his life?

      Report Post »  
    • Mil-Dot
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 7:04am

      This is just another example of blacks thinking that rules only apply to white people and not them. He wasn’t too dumb to smoke that guy was he? He was pretty good at that. Good riddence.

      Report Post »  
    • jzs
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 10:11am

      Mil-Dot says, “This is just another example of blacks thinking that rules only apply to white people and not them.”

      Okay, let me try that logic. Let’s see…

      jzs says, “Wade Michael Page is just another example of whites thinking that rules only apply to black people and not them.”

      Report Post » jzs  
    • buttpatriot
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 11:26am

      if an unborn baby is aborted, its soul is saved.
      if an adult is killed, no such guarantee.

      should not christians be more worried about the unsaved? focused more on the unsaved dying in war and death penalty.

      vengeance is not yours, christians…

      Report Post »  
    • jsmpsn
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 1:55pm

      @ButtPatriot Compassion doesn’t mean you ignore crimes period. If you let things go more bad things will happen.

      Report Post »  
  • Josh2007
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 4:24am

    That’s how we send a message here in Texas. Do not commit a murder in this state, you WILL pay the ultimate price. I believe we also have the shortest wait time from sentence to execution. So unlike some states with this law we actually have the cojones to use it.

    Report Post »  
  • nzkiwi
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 3:44am

    I’m going to put forward an unpopular view.

    There are certainly those who deserve to pay the final penalty. That is a given.

    But there are also those who have been released from death row – being scheduled to die – because they were subsequently proven to be innocent, usually by DNA.

    There can be no doubt that, before this science was developed, some innocent people were executed, and in the absence of exonerating evidence, probably one or two still are. I was once a supporter of the death penalty (we no longer have it this country), but now I don’t because of the innocents.

    Judges have been asked from time to time, not in capital cases, if they have ever made mistakes. Those asked have all agreed that they have on the odd occasion.

    So, while I am deeply sorry for the tragedy that befell Ramjr’s family, and believe that Mr Wilson was correctly convicted, I must state that I think that the death penalty is wrong.

    Report Post »  
    • nzkiwi
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 3:54am

      I meant to include this in support of my view.

      http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/innocence-cases-1973-1983

      This stops at 1983, but people continue to be released from death row all the time. You can find their case details on the net.

      I seem to recall that the Blaze reported on one such case a few months ago.

      Report Post »  
    • SCREW-WINDOWS
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 6:03am

      And what if their caught red handed ?

      Report Post » SCREW-WINDOWS  
    • historyguy48
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 7:17am

      You guys have a beautiful little island you live on, with a population roughly a tenth of ours. That also means that your problems are proportionately fewer, which is good.
      After taking twenty years, an unbelievable number of appeals, we executed a man for murder. His victim received no appeals, no judicial review, etc.
      Have we made mistakes, undoubtedly. When America was a rich society it could afford to endlessly house dangerous prisoners indefinitely. Well guess what, we no longer qualify as that rich society. It’s way past time we clean our storage facilities out.

      Report Post » historyguy48  
    • nzkiwi
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 10:50am

      @ Screw & Historyguy

      It gets difficult, I agree. Some crimes are repugnant and people, especially relatives, justifyably cry out for retribution. The problem is that you are then back in the situation where a court must decide, and inevitably mistakes are made. Those spree killers, who usually solve the dilemma by killing themselves, are often caught on security camera and their culpability is plain. So we execute those. And then those whose guilt is nearly as sure, and so on until we are back in doubtful areas.

      Even though we live on islands, we have had some pretty ghastly events and at least one mass murderer. We are not immune. We’ve also had the odd case where the convicted man (all men so far) was later discovered to be innocent. Release and compensation followed..

      You can’t release an innocent man if he is dead, or assuage the grief of his family.

      Don’t worry, I get just as outraged as anybody else, and admit that if someone was to do serious harm to my family, they would find their existance in jeopardy. So it is difficult to promote and defend my view, especially when it is rightly pointed out that I do so with the luxury of distance.

      But if one succeeds in looking at it dispassionately, one must allow that mitigation of a gross and terrifying error of justice can only be served by not executing anyone – and also by not allowing parole.

      Report Post »  
    • RAMJR
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 11:28pm

      There was a reason that the Ten Commandments of God included “Thou shall not commit murder” and “Thou shall not bare false witness.” It was because murderers were put to death, under witness…and in being the witness, if the man accused was innocent, the witness would eventually pay with his life. Of course these were the days when morality was a value that was held in a persons standing by their actions, which showed their words were of value.

      Today, it is true, there have been those who have been found innocent, but the reason we know this is this is rare and makes the news. Same as abortions that are called for with rape. The excuse of using the same tactic, of giving murderers life, that tax payers pay, and more and more jails become less and less a threat, in the Liberal orgs that come to the rescue of the immoral, as, for example, my uncle, who was murdered by a man, whose attorney tried to have him called retarded, when this man hid a shotgun behind his back, and shot my uncle in the back as he tried to get away. My aunt has had to go to many parole boards to keep a murderer in jail? These days, DNA has almost eliminated the element of sloppy police work. The only thing that stops murderers being executed, are mostly jurors/judges, who have never had a loved one murdered.
      I remember the 1st trial of the Manedez Brothers, when one of the jurors said they felt sorry for these brothers because their mom and dad were dead…Yeah! Because they murdered them!

      Report Post »  
  • RAMJR
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 1:07am

    The reason our courts have become a joke, is the abuse of laws, revisionist constitutionalists, corrupt judges, lawyers & attorneys, that stop murderers from being executed the minute they are sentenced guilty, having their day in court, evidence for & against.
    What would this nation be like if murderers, rapists & child molesters were put to death for their actions? What would be the signal to those thinking about any of those three? What would happen if those that stole, had to give two to ten times to those they took from, & not go to jail with three square meals, a/c & heat, conjugal visits, computer use & tax paid medical/ dental work…instead still be in the situation they put themselves into, but now with added shame from having to gain back trust from those they disappointed by their actions. What if chain gangs came back, to the rest of the criminals in jails, to make their life a living hell. Much different than a man who robs a bank of a dollar, and waits on the front steps for the cops so he can go to jail and get medical attention from a tooth that is hurting him (happened in Georgia).
    I know, there are many Christians, that are against the death penalty…but restitution for murder calls for death Biblically. This doesn‘t mean the murderer can’t ask for forgiveness from God…but the deed had been done. Be it a man, woman or child, murder should have restitution not costing anyone else. My uncle was murdered, by a man the courts called retarded.

    Report Post »  
    • RAMJR
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 1:15am

      Retarded? He hid the shotgun behind his back, as he walked up to my uncle and pulled it out and shot him in the back, as my uncle tried to get away.
      My aunt has to go to every parole this man has had the opportunity to get out of jail, time served. A murderer, who if my aunt didn’t stand against him, would have been out years ago. This is the joke the taking of God out our courts, and the fear of God in keeping immorality and corruption out of our courts, judges, lawyers, attorneys.
      I wonder if our founders would have given everything they owned, even their lives and their families, if they knew the joke this nation would become. This administration, and all the corruption that secular Progressives (Socialists) have used to destroy this country, from the inside out….Just a reflection in this one murder, trying to get a pass for actions he did. The no-fault entitlement/Occupy generation my little niece and nephews will have to grow up in. God be with us.

       
    • colt1860
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 3:14pm

      Amen. I agree with everything you said. I’ll add that instead of keeping these thiefs, and other criminals idle, we use them ONCE AGAIN (as we used to do) for labor, community service, cleaning up our roads, and actually doing something productive. If they steal something, howbeit, the judge makes them work and pay back that which they stole, lost or destoyed. If it was something that would be of service to the victim, make them pay the investment lost, whether it be threefold or fivefold. Punishment should be, once again, punishment, and not “time” served doing nothing. These criminals should do the real serving, not us taxpayers.

      Report Post »  
  • cookcountypatriot
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 12:53am

    yeah hitler did that too….they ok,d the killing of jews too

    Report Post » cookcountypatriot  
  • Eugene1
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 12:46am

    Do the crime, pay the penalty! This guy was a thief and a community problem including murder. Who‘s to say if he got off that he wouldn’t do it again. In my mind, all career criminals have a screw loose!

    Report Post » Eugene1  
  • sandy21957
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 12:36am

    While we are at it, why does it take 20 years or better to finally render the lethal judgment?

    Report Post » sandy21957  
  • sandy21957
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 12:35am

    If I knew failing a test would save my life I could take the test with results lower than a comatose slug. Testing people is a joke. Truly brilliant, manipulative people can skew a test for their favor. Good for Texas. Throw out the trash.

    Report Post » sandy21957  
  • Smokey_Bojangles
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 12:29am

    About 400,000 Americans have Down syndrome and have killed no one.Why? Because they know better.

    Report Post » Smokey_Bojangles  
  • Apple Bite
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 12:23am

    Can’t seem to look at the positives in this story, can you?

    He came clean and admitted what he had done was wrong.

    That‘s a hell of a lot more than what you’re getting out of the Obama Administration and the Liberals in the Senate. And I don’t care how you try to flip the script on that fact.

    Report Post » Apple Bite  
    • objectivetruth
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 9:13am

      No I didn’t miss that part of it.The point is not lost on me.Forgive me here but has anyone considered that he has muslim ties?One of the muslims tactics for fiduary fraud was to claim that the target was retarded and or insane.It allowed them to try an obtain control over the target[legally].SInce the brotherhood has and is deeply entrenched in certain parts of the judicial system I don’t find this impossible.Dirty shrink in the shades of hassan[but in the civilian world].Maybe he has been a useful plant while inside?

      Report Post »  
  • Detroit paperboy
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 12:20am

    He obviously went to public schools……….along with downtown Detroit, another great liberal democrat achievement, public education……God save us from these morons please…..

    Report Post »  
  • Detroit paperboy
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 12:14am

    If Obama had a brother living in a hut in Kenya ….he’d look like this guy…..l

    Report Post »  
  • UnCL3
    Posted on August 8, 2012 at 12:01am

    Jeez…this dude deserved the death penalty.

    If Obama had a dealer, he’d look like this guy…nighty night!

    Report Post » UnCL3  
  • eramthgin
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:53pm

    Waaa Waaa Waaa Boo Hoo Hoo he knows the difference between right and wrong. He drove a car and knew to stop at red lights and stop signs. He knows right from wrong. Slip him the needle and send him on to God.

    Report Post » eramthgin  
  • BlazingPatriot
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:48pm

    Ummm…….Let’s see

    It must have been the lead paint in the house he was brought up in.

    Report Post » BlazingPatriot  
    • SCREW-WINDOWS
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 6:21am

      If you can be to dumb to die then I know some that will live forever.

      Report Post » SCREW-WINDOWS  
  • Quagaar Warrior
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:46pm

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Victims come first!
    Dirt-bags come last!
    KILL HIM!!!
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Report Post »  
  • RJJinGadsden
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:45pm

    According to the left, you only kill the unborn…well some of them think that it is okay to kill children after only so many years. Talk about the ultimate of innocence!

    Report Post » RJJinGadsden  
    • DEFCON4
      Posted on August 8, 2012 at 12:11am

      @ RJJ, according to the left, they are “Bass Ackwards” on this Issue!

      Report Post » DEFCON4  
  • Tri-ox
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:43pm

    SUPREME COURT OKAYS DEATH PENALTY FOR murderer.

    Don’t want to be punished for a crime? Don’t commit a crime.

    Report Post » Tri-ox  
    • Old Truckers
      Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:52pm

      According to the article, it was twenty years ago he was sentenced to death.
      Twenty years! ???

      Report Post » Old Truckers  
  • mharry860
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:41pm

    I actually find this sad, but my deceased Downe’s Syndrome sister, knew right from wrong.

    Report Post » mharry860  
  • marcus_arealius
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:41pm

    That would apply to almost all Democrat politicians and their activist nutzos.

    Report Post »  
  • MODEL82A1
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:39pm

    This one’s REALLY going to set the Lefties off. Although, maybe it will act as a deterrent to their propensity for violence. Then again, they are low IQ………

    Report Post » MODEL82A1  
  • Detroit paperboy
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:36pm

    Wow that moron closet homosexual lefty John Roberts didn’t block it ? Amazing……some things I actually do blame bush over…..

    Report Post »  
  • buttpatriot
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:31pm

    every time i look at the blaze front page there are pictures of mad black men

    Report Post »  
  • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:29pm

    So would this be “Death Penalty for Dummies”

    Huh, come on, applause.

    Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
    • Wool-Free Vision
      Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:53pm

      Applauding…

      I can’t believe that “too dumb to die” is considered a defense.

      He was obviously smart enough to steal some stuff,
      With enough free will to kidnap and kill.
      Maybe he’ll want to know,
      “Hey, what’s in the hypo?”

      Report Post » Wool-Free Vision  
    • BlazingPatriot
      Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:56pm

      ( ( ( ( ( clap – clap – clap – clap ) ) ) ) )

      Report Post » BlazingPatriot  
  • Maji
    Posted on August 7, 2012 at 11:28pm

    So they finally caught up with obama.
    Good Deal!

    Report Post »  
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