Sept. 10
TEXAS----impending execution
Federal Court Denies Stay for Texas Prisoner with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Mark Soliz, who is scheduled for execution in Texas on September 10, 2019, was
denied a stay and an opportunity to present a new argument related to mental
impairments that his attorney says should exempt him from execution. He had
sought a stay because he has fetal alcohol syndrome, a condition his attorney
says is the “‘functional equivalent’ of conditions already recognized as
disqualifying exemptions to the death penalty,” because his mother’s alcohol
consumption during her pregnancy impaired his intellectual development. Under
the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Atkins v. Virginia, people with intellectual
disabilities cannot be executed. “Expansion of the Supreme Court’s holding in
Atkins to protect offenders suffering from FASD [fetal alcohol spectrum
disorder] is a constantly evolving doctrine that merits further consideration,”
his appeal stated. He also argued that recent changes to the DSM-5, the most
recent diagnostic manual used by psychiatrists and psychologists to diagnose
mental illness and developmental disorders, such as intellectual disability,
mean that “higher IQ scores no longer bar a diagnosis of an intellectual
disability.” An earlier claim of intellectual disability was rejected because
Soliz’s IQ score of 75 was slightly above the threshold for a diagnosis of
intellectual disability. Soliz’s attorney, Seth Kretzer, said the execution
“should certainly be stayed. … Mr. Soliz is a victim of his mother’s ingestion
of harmful substances in the womb. Supreme Court doctrine will not permit the
execution of people who are functionally developmentally impaired.” The U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit rejected his appeal and request for a
stay on September 9, 2019. Texas prisoner Dexter Johnson successfully obtained
a stay of execution in August, arguing that his intellectual disability claim
should be reconsidered in light of the changes to the DSM.
Like many death-row prisoners, Soliz experienced chronic trauma throughout his
childhood. He witnessed his aunt’s murder and was surrounded by prostitution
and drugs. Defense attorney Greg Westfall said of Soliz, “That case was
overwhelmingly sad for everyone involved. The effects of neglect and trauma on
a developing brain are becoming better known. Basically, Soliz had a monstrous
childhood and should not be executed. The death penalty is stupid. It fulfills
none of the promise of closure and is incredibly expensive.” Soliz’s case also
highlights the excessive costs of death-penalty trials. According to Johnson
County District Attorney Dale Hanna, “It was our most expensive and longest
trial in the county’s history. The expense of these type trials is just
staggering.” County Auditor Kirk Kirkpatrick said the trial, which ended in
2012, cost $903,544.13, not including the cost of Soliz’s incarceration or
appeals.
(source: Death Penalty Information Center)
_______________________________________________
A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu
DeathPenalty mailing list
DeathPenalty@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/deathpenalty
