Foreword
Since 1976, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a series of decisions that ushered in the modern death-penalty age in America, States have split on the issue. Presently, 38 States and the Federal Government allow some form of capital punishment, while 22 States forbid the practice.A topic of recent controversy is whether mentally retarded defendants are eligible for the death penalty. The Court first considered this issue in Penry v. Lynaugh (1989). In this decision, the Court held that States must allow juries to consider the mental retardation of a defendant as potentially mitigating evidence when deciding whether to apply…
