Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill Tuesday that will transform how intellectual disability is handled in death penalty cases in Georgia.
Now in alignment with 26 other states that still practice capital punishment, Georgia will require a judge to determine during a pretrial hearing whether a defendant is intellectually disabled or not. Prior to the signing of this bill, intellectual disability was determined by a jury while also considering the defendant’s guilt or innocence.
“Yesterday marked a significant step forward for Georgia and the intellectual disabilities community. After over a decade of advocacy to end the execution of individuals with intellectual disabilities, Georgia lawmakers from across the political spectrum have responded bravely,” said Joia Thornton, in a statement to Capital B Atlanta. Thornton is the national director of the Faith Leaders of Color Coalition, which is one of many advocacy groups to support the bill.
As it is with the criminal justice system overall, Black people make up a disproportionate percentage of death row inmates nationally. In Georgia, where the population is about one-third Black, 44% of death row inmates are Black.
Anti-death penalty and disability advocates have criticized the system for years because defendants had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they were intellectually disabled, one of the highest standards of proof required in criminal law. Since Georgia passed a law in 1988 banning the execution of intellectually disabled people, not a single defendant has proven they were intellectually disabled.
Over a decade later, the U.S. Supreme Court would rule in 2002 in Atkins v. Virginia that executing an intellectually disabled person would violate the Eighth Amendment’s “cruel and unusual punishment” clause.
In the 23 years since the Supreme Court’s ruling, however, Georgia had fallen behind other death penalty states who updated their laws to comply with the court’s decision.
Last year, Georgia drew national attention for executing a man who multiple experts deemed intellectually disabled. Willie James Pye and two other men were convicted in 1996 of the kidnapping, robbery, rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend Alicia Yarbrough.
Pye’s death sentence had been overturned after his original attorney’s competence was called into question. But it was later reinstated by an appellate court, and he was executed by lethal injection on March 20, 2024. According to the AP, Pye was determined to have suffered from frontal lobe brain damage that may have been caused by fetal alcohol syndrome, which would inhibit his planning ability and impulse control.
Though legislation to address intellectual disability in death penalty cases has been in the works for many years, it wasn’t successful until it gained support from GOP leaders like Speaker of the House Jon Burns and the bill’s author, state Rep. Bill Werkheiser. In March, the bill passed unanimously in the state House and 53-1 in the state Senate.
“In our work, we know that progress doesn’t happen overnight. The signing of HB 123 into law is a testament to the persistence, steadfastness, and community behind this effort. This law will undoubtedly save lives. We are thankful we had Chairman Werkheiser as a champion and partner in this monumental victory,” said Terrica Redfield Ganzy, executive director for the Southern Center for Human Rights, in a statement.
House Bill 123 became active law when it was signed Tuesday, unlike many other bills from this legislative session that Kemp has signed that do not take effect until July 1. The bill, however, will not impact the sentences or convictions of the 34 people currently on death row in Georgia.
