Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant’s section 2241 petition that challenged his death penalty on kidnapping in which death occurred charge, where defendant contended that newly discovered evidence from Social Security records supported his claim that he was intellectually disabled, which precluded imposition of his death sentence under Atkins, 526 U.S. 304. Defendant’s application for Social Security benefits, which was generated prior to instant charged offense, resulted in expert findings that defendant had deficit in conceptual functioning, and other experts testified that defendant had substantial limitations with language, reading, writing, problem-solving and judgment. Fact that defendant performed well on two standardized tests of academic ability that indicated that defendant scored in 43rd percentile on grade school test, and he scored freshman college level on two subjects of Adult Basic Learning Exam (ABLE) did not require different result, where ABLE test was no longer deemed reliable, and where cognative deficits identified by defendant’s experts were not otherwise offset by said tests. As such, defendant could not remain under death sentence.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Death Penalty