Execution of the Mentally Retarded: How the Law Was Changed

Jim Ellis a hero to some people. You can't say he got the law changed single-handedly, but without him and his strategy, it might never have happened. Ellis is a law professor at University of New Mexico and the former president of the American Association on Mental Retardation. He has worked for nearly 30 years on behalf of people with mental disabilities. He believed it was immoral and grossly unfair to execute people who are mentally retarded.

Ellis went from state to state where capital punishment exists, organizing the parents of mentally retarded children and adults. The parents, in turn, formed citizen lobbying groups and brought pressure to bear on the States to eliminate the death penalty for those who are mentally retarded. Ellis argued that "capital punishment is generally reserved for the 1% or 2% of murderers who deserve...
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