SB 65 Summary

• Adds Section 13A-5-60 to Alabama Code to establish procedures for determining whether a capital murder defendant has mental retardation, consistent with U.S. Supreme Court ruling that defendants with mental retardation cannot be subject to the death penalty.

• Defines "individual with mental retardation" as having both significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning manifested by age 18 AND significant limitations in adaptive functioning (in two or more areas: communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure skills, work skills) manifested by age 18.

• Defendant bears burden of proving mental retardation by clear and convincing evidence; IQ below 70 supports inference but is not determinative of subaverage functioning, and IQ of 70 or above supports inference that defendant does not have mental retardation.

• Trial court must determine whether defendant has mental retardation and articulate supporting findings; defendant may request pretrial evidentiary hearing no later than 90 days before trial; both defendant and state entitled to psychological or psychiatric expert examination.

• If trial court finds defendant has mental retardation, state is prohibited from seeking death penalty; does not apply retroactively to defendants already convicted and sentenced to death; becomes effective first day of third month after passage and approval.