USA - Pennsylvania. Legislation Prohibiting Death Penalty for Mentally Challenged Moves in State Senate

Legislation Prohibiting Death Penalty for Mentally Challenged Moves in State Senate. The state Senate approved 43-7 SB 397, a bill to establish standards for determining intellectual disabilities as an exemption from the death penalty. The bill allows lawyers for a defendant in a capital case to request a hearing before the trial to determine if the defendant is eligible for the death penalty. The burden of proof would be on the defendant. If the judge rules in favor of the defendant, the case would move forward as a non-capital trial. In the case of a defendant who has already been sentenced to death, a similar procedure would take place. Pennsylvania has executed a total of three people since 1976. There are currently 208 inmates on death row.