Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge William Mazzola threw out the death sentence...

Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas Judge William Mazzola threw out the death sentence of Raymond Whitney. Whitney, an African-American man who has been on Pennsylvania's death row since 1981, was immediately re-sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Whitney had been sentenced to death on May 7 1982 for the October 10, 1981 killing, during a burglary, of Mahin Murtaza.
During the course of the evidentiary hearing, the lawyers from the LDF (NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, Inc.) presented the testimony of an expert psychologist and several of Mr. Whitney's friends and family members. They examined a review of his school records, hospital records, mental health evaluations, and correctional records. That made clear that Whitney has suffered from mental retardation throughout his life. In his Order, Judge Mazzola characterized this evidence of mental retardation as "overwhelming."