Ill Prisoners example essay topic

James Felner, author of "Mentally Retarded Don't Belong on Death Row", states that, "A person is considered mentally retarded if he or she has a significantly sub-average general intellectual functioning, which generally means recording an IQ score of lower than 70, and exhibiting deficits in adaptive behavior before the age of 18". According to the American Association on Mental Retardation, it has three components: 1. significantly sub-average intellectual function 2. accompanying impairments in the adaptive skills of the person 3. manifestation of the disability before the age of 18 How can Americans put someone on death row that is not fully responsible for his actions? Many argue that these people have committed horrible murders and are absolutely guilty of a capital crime; therefore they deserve the death penalty as the consequence of their crime. The people behind these arguments are wrong; it is a dreadful way to deal with people who do not understand the extent of their actions. Several cases have proven that convicted felons of below average mental capacity are not competent enough to argue their case effectively. According to Felner, in the united states alone, there have been at least 33 mentally ill men executed since the United States reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

Some experts estimate that as many as 10-15 percent of the 3,000 men and women on the nation's death rows are mentally ill. This barbaric action performed on and sentenced to these mentally ill prisoners is morally wrong. As Americans we should take pride in our country and our citizens, by punishing these special people not killing them. They did not choose their own mental impairments; therefore, they should not have these horrible acts of injustice inflected on them. In many cases, there have been numerous times that mentally ill convicts have been sentenced based so ley on the words that flow from their mouths.

It is proven that a retarded person is simply not the same as other adults. According to Felner, they are child-like in may of their limitations: their ability to reason and develop skills needed to navigate in the world are permanently stunted. In the case of Tony Chambers, a black man with an IQ in the 50's and a mental age of 6. According to religious tolerance. com, he was convicted of raping and murdering a young girl in 1990.

Chambers confessed to the crime and will probably be executed, although no DNA evidence proved that he was the perpetrator. The confession of a 6 year old would never stand alone in court, but because he was in the body of an adult, his words were taken seriously and he was put to death. Many states have moved from these immoral acts, but too many remain. The United States Supreme Court ruled in 1986 that the 8th Amendment prohibits the execution of insane prisoners. Only 12 states and the federal government in the United States do execute prisoners, but prohibit persons who are mentally disadvantaged to be sentenced to death. The remaining 20 states that allow execution of such people are the only democratic jurisdictions in the world to do so.