USA - Georgia. Judge George Nunn resentenced Roger Collins to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Houston County Superior Court Judge George Nunn resentenced Roger Collins, 56, Black, to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The resentencing followed mental evaluations requested by both the prosecution and defense attorneys that found Collins suffers from mental retardation. The law prohibits the execution of mentally retarded people. Collins was sentenced to death in Houston County on February 17, 1978 for the Aug. 6, 1977, rape and slaying of a 17-year-old girl, DeLores Luster. He was 18 then. Collins was under a death sentence for nearly 38 years. At least twice his execution was ordered but then stayed. In 1991, a Butts County Superior Court judge remanded the case to Houston County Superior Court on the mental retardation issue after a forensic psychologist found that Collins had an IQ of 66. But a trial to determine whether Collins was mentally disabled never took place. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court banned the execution of mentally retarded people but left up to each state how determinations of mental capacity are made. Georgia is the only state that requires the defense to prove mental retardation beyond a reasonable doubt. The standard has stood up under appeal. Collins' case languished for more than 20 years until Decatur-based Watchdogs for Justice petitioned the Attorney General's Office in September 2012 to intervene. The nonprofit group asked that the death penalty be vacated for a life sentence with the possibility of parole. In January 2013, Houston County Chief Deputy Assistant District Attorney Dan Bibler wrote a letter to Nunn about the need to get the case moving and requested a new psychiatric evaluation of Collins. State attorneys who represent people charged in capital cases mounted a defense to prevent prosecutors from challenging Collins' 1991 diagnosis of mental retardation and asked Nunn to vacate the death sentence for a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Nunn declined. The prosecution’s mental evaluation was completed in late July of this year with a diagnosis of mental retardation.