No Death Penalty When Accused Person Has an Intellectual Disability

If this bill is passed, it will update the part of the Code of Georgia about what happens when a person commits a crime

• Code of Georgia: These are the rules or laws for the state of Georgia that say what people in Georgia can and cannot do.

• Crime: Something a person does that breaks the law and can lead to punishment

It sets up what happens before a trial for a very serious crime where the death penalty is on the table and the person accused of committing a crime says they have an intellectual disability. 

• Trial: A meeting in court where a judge and sometimes a jury listen to evidence and decide if a person is guilty or not guilty of a crime.

• Death Penalty: A punishment where a person found guilty of a very serious crime, is put to death by the government.

This bill defines intellectual disability as “"Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning resulting in or associated with impairments in adaptive behavior which manifested during the developmental period." 

• Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning: Considerably below-average ability to learn, think, and solve problems.

• Impairments in adaptive behavior: Difficulties in everyday skills needed to live by themself, such as sharing thoughts and ideas, self-care, and social interactions.

• Manifested during the developmental period: These challenges began as a child

It also lays out the steps for:

• Turning in paperwork saying a person will share they have intellectual disability, 

• Deciding a person has an intellectual disability before a trial happens

• How this affects court decisions and what happens next.

• Rules for looking over these decisions. 

If this bill becomes law, it gets rid of any other laws that stop this one from working. 

When a very serious crime has been committed and the death penalty is a possibility, the person accused of committing a crime can turn in paperwork before the trial saying they have an intellectual disability. 

A hearing can happen if the person accused of committing a crime asks for it or must be held if both them and the court agrees.

• Hearing: A meeting in court where a judge listens to people and decides what should happen.

The court will decide whether the person has intellectual disability. 

• The person has to prove they have more than a 50% chance of having an intellectual disability. 

If the court decides the person has an intellectual disability, they can’t get the death penalty. 

• If they’re not found to have it, it can still be suggested.

• Either side can ask for an immediate look at the decision.

When insanity, mental illness, or intellectual disability is part of why the person committed the crime, the court or jury needs to decide if the person is: 

• Guilty (they did the crime)

• Not guilty (they didn’t do the crime)

• Not guilty by reason of insanity (Not in trouble for doing the crime because they couldn’t control their own actions) 

• Guilty but mentally ill (They did the crime but were mentally ill when they did it)

  • Only for felonies

    • Felony: A serious crime that usually leads to more than a year in prison.

• If the bill is passed: Guilty but with intellectual disability (they did do the crime but they also had a disability that affected their ability to process information).

  • Only for felonies

The person saying they’re guilty but with intellectual disability won’t be accepted until: 

• The person has been checked out by a professional with a license to support people with mental and emotional challenges.

• The court looks at what those professionals found. 

• A hearing is held about the person’s mental wellness. 

• The court is sure this decision is solid. 

In death penalty cases where the person says before trial that they have an intellectual disability, the steps listed above must be followed.

The judge must tell the jury that if the person is found: 

• Jury: A group of regular people chosen to listen to a trial and help decide if the person did or did not commit a crime.

• Not guilty by reason of insanity, they’ll go to a mental health hospital run by the state. 

• Guilty but mentally ill, they’ll go to the Department of Corrections for treatment, and might be in the hospital for a little while.

  • Department of corrections: The government office in charge of prisons and making sure people who are guilty of crimes are kept and follow the rules.

• Guilty but with intellectual disability, they’ll be placed in the Department of Corrections, with similar options.

In situations where very serious crimes have been committed after July 1, 2025 where the the person says they have an intellectual disability: 

• The jury first needs to decide if the person is definitely guilty. 

  • If found guilty, the person can share proof of their intellectual disability. 

• If the jury decides there’s enough proof that the person has this disability, they need to say it in the decision.

• If they find there’s no intellectual disability, the person will get the death penalty.

In cases after July 1, 2025, if the court or jury decides the person is guilty but has an intellectual disability, the death penalty can't be given. 

• The defendant will have to spend the rest of their life in prison instead. 

  • Prison: A place where people who the court thinks have done serious crimes are kept for a long time as punishment.

If a paperwork that says the person has an intellectual disability is turned in before the trial or a meeting to test if the person has an intellectual disability, the time those things take won’t count against the rule that a trial has to happen fast.

If this bill passes, paperwork asking questions that look at what happened in very serious crimes have to check for decisions about intellectual disability that were made before the trial.