Georgia set to ease strict rules for proving intellectual disability in death penalty cases
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia makes it harder than any other state for an individual to prove they are legally exempt from the death penalty because of an intellectual disability. A bill that would change that is on track to become law after a yearslong push.
The Senate approved the measure 53-1 Monday, after receiving overwhelming support from both parties in the House earlier this month. Once the House OKs final changes, it will go to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp's desk.
In 1988, Georgia became the first state to outlaw the death penalty for intellectually disabled people. The U.S. Supreme Court followed in 2002, ruling that executing intellectually disabled people violates constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
But Georgia is the only state that requires individuals to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they have an intellectual disability. Sponsored by Glennville Republican state Rep. Bill Werkheiser, House Bill 123 would lower that standard to a preponderance of evidence and alter trial procedures to ensure people get a fair chance to convince judges and jurors alike of their disability.
In multiple Georgia cases, lawyers have argued without success that their clients had intellectual disabilities. In some of them, judges said they may have succeeded if Georgia changed its strict rules. One wrote that he would 'embrace' efforts by lawmakers to do so.
In the House, Sandy Springs Democratic Rep. Esther Panitch called executing people with intellectual disabilities a 'moral failure.'
'How we protect the most vulnerable and intellectually disabled individuals facing the death penalty is the ultimate test of our collective moral character, and I submit that we must choose compassion over retribution and understanding over punishment,' Panitch said.
An attempt to change the law last year failed. Soon afterward, the state executed Willie James Pye, whose IQ was low enough to indicate that he was intellectually disabled, according to his lawyers.
While opposing it in the past, district attorneys have said more recently that they are OK with changing the reasonable doubt standard. But some have balked at a couple of procedural changes included in the bill: one that adds a pretrial hearing to determine whether someone has an intellectual disability, which is mandatory if prosecutors agree to it; and another that establishes a separate process in a trial for determining whether someone is guilty and has an intellectual disability.
Most states have these options. Lawyers say changing the reasonable doubt standard won't stop intellectually disabled people from getting the death penalty unless it is paired with procedural changes. Separate processes would ensure jurors can evaluate whether someone is intellectually disabled objectively, without being influenced by the evidence of the crime the person committed, the lawyers say.
Prosecutors say the bill would make it too difficult to pursue the death penalty and stop the practice altogether. They said lawmakers should just ban the death penalty if that is their ultimate aim.
But at a recent Senate Judiciary committee meeting, T. Wright Barksdale III, district attorney for the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit in central Georgia, acknowledged the bill was likely going to pass regardless of whether he liked it so he asked for changes instead.
The final bill, which Werkheiser said will likely get House approval, requires the defense to provide prosecutors with their evidence of intellectual disability no later than 60 days ahead of the pretrial hearing. Within 30 days of receiving that, prosecutors have to provide the defense with discovery for that hearing. It also adds the option for people to receive sentences of life without parole instead of the death penalty, instead of just a life sentence.
Meanwhile, lawmakers on both sides remained enthusiastic about the bill, with a Senate committee tweaking it so it would go into effect immediately and apply to all pending cases.
'It's been a three-year process, but I feel like it sends a huge message and balances moderation with justice and wisdom,' Werkheiser said after the vote.
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Hamilton Spectator
30 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Nicaragua's former President Violeta Chamorro dies at 95, family says
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — Violeta Chamorro, an unassuming homemaker who was thrust into politics by her husband's assassination and stunned the world by ousting the ruling Sandinista party in presidential elections and ending Nicaragua 's civil war, has died, her family said in a statement on Saturday. She was 95. The country's first female president, known as Doña Violeta to both supporters and detractors, she presided over the Central American nation's uneasy transition to peace after nearly a decade of conflict between the Sandinista government of Daniel Ortega and U.S.-backed Contra rebels. At nearly seven years, Chamorro's was the longest single term ever served by a democratically elected Nicaraguan leader, and when it was over she handed over the presidential sash to an elected civilian successor — a relative rarity for a country with a long history of strongman rule, revolution and deep political polarization. Chamorro died in San Jose, Costa Rica, according to the family's statement shared by her son, Carlos Fernando Chamorro, on X. 'Doña Violeta died peacefully, surrounded by the affection and love of her children and those who had provided her with extraordinary care, and now she finds herself in the peace of the Lord,' the statement said. A religious ceremony was being planned in San Jose. Her remains will be held in Costa Rica 'until Nicaragua returns to being a Republic,' the statement said. In more recent years, the family had been driven into exile in Costa Rica like hundreds of thousands of other Nicaraguans fleeing the repression of Ortega. Violeta Chamorro's daughter , Cristiana Chamorro, was held under house arrest for months in Nicaragua and then convicted of money laundering and other charges as Ortega moved to clear the field of challengers as he sought reelection. The Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation closed its operations in Nicaragua in January 2021, as thousands of nongovernmental organizations have been forced to do since because Ortega has worked to silence any critical voices. It had provided training for journalists, helped finance journalistic outlets and defended freedom of expression. Husband's assassination Born Violeta Barrios Torres on Oct. 18, 1929, in the southwestern city of Rivas, Chamorro had little by way of preparation for the public eye. The eldest daughter of a landowning family, she was sent to U.S. finishing schools. After her father's death in 1948, she returned to the family home and married Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, who soon became editor and publisher of the family newspaper, La Prensa, following his own father's death. He penned editorials denouncing the abuses of the regime of Gen. Anastasio Somoza, whose family had ruled Nicaragua for four decades, and was gunned down on a Managua street in January 1978. The killing, widely believed to have been ordered by Somoza, galvanized the opposition and fueled the popular revolt led by Ortega's Sandinista National Liberation Front that toppled the dictator in July 1979. Chamorro herself acknowledged that she had little ambition beyond raising her four children before her husband's assassination. She said she was in Miami shopping for a wedding dress for one of her daughters when she heard the news. Still, Chamorro took over publishing La Prensa and also became a member of the junta that replaced Somoza. She quit just nine months later as the Sandinistas exerted their dominance and built a socialist government aligned with Cuba and the Soviet Union and at odds with the United States amid the Cold War. La Prensa became a leading voice of opposition to the Sandinistas and the focus of regular harassment by government supporters who accused the paper of being part of Washington's efforts — along with U.S.-financed rebels, dubbed 'Contras' by the Sandinistas for their counterrevolutionary fight — to undermine the leftist regime. Chamorro later recounted bitter memories of what she considered the Sandinistas' betrayal of her husband's democratic goals and her own faith in the anti-Somoza revolution. 'I'm not praising Somoza's government. It was horrible. But the threats that I've had from the Sandinistas — I never thought they would repay me in that way,' she said. 'Peace and progress' Chamorro saw her own family divided by the country's politics. Son Pedro Joaquin became a leader of the Contras, and daughter Cristiana worked as an editor at La Prensa. But another son, Carlos Fernando, and Chamorro's eldest daughter, Claudia, were militant Sandinistas. By 1990 Nicaragua was in tatters. The economy was in shambles thanks to a U.S. trade embargo, Sandinista mismanagement and war. Some 30,000 people had died in the fighting between the Contras and Sandinistas. When a coalition of 14 opposition parties nominated an initially reluctant Chamorro as their candidate in the presidential election called for February that year, few gave her much chance against the Sandinista incumbent, Ortega. Even after months of campaigning, she stumbled over speeches and made baffling blunders. Suffering from osteoporosis, a disease that weakens the bones, she broke her knee in a household fall and spent much of the campaign in a wheelchair. But elegant, silver-haired and dressed almost exclusively in white, she connected with many Nicaraguans tired of war and hardship. Her maternal image, coupled with promises of reconciliation and an end to the military draft, contrasted with Ortega's swagger and revolutionary rhetoric. 'I bring the flag of love,' she told a rally shortly before the vote. 'Hatred has only brought us war and hunger. With love will come peace and progress.' She shocked the Sandinistas and the world by handily winning the election, hailing her victory as the fulfillment of her late husband's vision. 'We knew that in a free election we would achieve a democratic republic of the kind Pedro Joaquin always dreamed,' Chamorro said. Washington lifted trade sanctions and promised aid to rebuild the nation's ravaged economy, and by June the 19,000-strong Contra army had been disbanded, formally ending an eight-year war. Forced into negotiations Chamorro had little else to celebrate during her first months in office. In the two months between the election and her inauguration, the Sandinistas looted the government, signing over government vehicles and houses to militants in a giveaway that became popularly known as 'the pinata.' Her plans to stabilize the hyperinflation-wracked economy with free-market reforms were met with stiff opposition from the Sandinistas, who had the loyalty of most of the country's organized labor. Chamorro's first 100 days in power were marred by two general strikes, the second of which led to street battles between protesters and government supporters. To restore order Chamorro called on the Sandinista-dominated army, testing the loyalty of the force led by Gen. Humberto Ortega, Daniel Ortega's older brother. The army took to the streets but did not act against the strikers. Chamorro was forced into negotiations, broadening the growing rift between moderates and hardliners in her government. Eventually her vice president, Virgilio Godoy, became one over her most vocal critics. Nicaraguans hoping that Chamorro's election would quickly bring stability and economic progress were disappointed. Within a year some former Contras had taken up arms again, saying they were being persecuted by security forces still largely controlled by the Sandinistas. Few investors were willing to gamble on a destitute country with a volatile workforce, while foreign volunteers who had been willing to pick coffee and cotton in support of the Sandinistas had long departed. 'What more do you want than to have the war ended?' Chamorro said after a year in office. Vision of forgiveness Chamorro was unable to undo Nicaragua's dire poverty. By the end of her administration in early 1997, unemployment was measured at over 50 percent, while crime, drug abuse and prostitution — practically unheard of during the Sandinista years — soared. That year she handed the presidential sash to another elected civilian: conservative Arnoldo Aleman, who also defeated Ortega at the ballot. In her final months in office, Chamorro published an autobiography, 'Dreams of the Heart,' in which she emphasized her vision of forgiveness and reconciliation. 'After six years as president, she has broadened her definition of 'my children' to include all Nicaraguans,' wrote a reviewer for the Los Angeles Times. 'So even political opponents like Ortega are briefly criticized in one sentence, only to be generously forgiven in the next.' After leaving office, Chamorro retired to her Managua home and her grandchildren. She generally steered clear of politics and created the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation. In 2011 it was revealed that she suffered from a brain tumor. In October 2018, she was hospitalized and said by family members to be in 'delicate condition' after suffering a cerebral embolism, a kind of stroke. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Newsweek
32 minutes ago
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Who is Vance Boelter? What We Know About Suspect in Democrat Assassination
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Law enforcement sources have identified 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter as the suspect in the targeted shooting of two Minnesota state lawmakers early Saturday morning, according to The Associated Press. The attacks killed State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark in their Brooklyn Park home, while State Senator John Hoffman and his wife remain hospitalized in critical condition after being shot in Champlin. The suspect impersonated a police officer during both attacks, wearing official-looking gear including a vest, badge, and equipment. The attacks began around 2:00 a.m. at Senator Hoffman's Champlin residence, followed by the fatal shooting at Representative Hortman's Brooklyn Park home at approximately 3:35 a.m. When officers arrived at Hortman's residence to conduct a welfare check, they encountered someone dressed as a police officer exiting the home. Investigators found "No Kings" protest flyers in the suspect's vehicle, prompting authorities to cancel planned demonstrations across the state as a precautionary measure. Law enforcement sources indicate investigators are examining whether the attacks were motivated by extreme views on abortion policy. Representative Hortman, first elected in 2004, served as House Speaker from 2019 to 2025 and was the current Democratic leader in the legislature. Senator Hoffman, representing District 34 since 2013, previously served on the Anoka Hennepin School Board. The suspect remains at large, with Brooklyn Park under an active shelter-in-place order while hundreds of law enforcement officers from multiple agencies conduct an intensive manhunt. Police have issued unusual safety warnings, advising residents not to open doors to lone officers and noting that "licensed officers are working in pairs." Enhanced security has been deployed to protect officials named on the target list, while Governor Walz has advised against attending political rallies until the suspect is captured. The FBI continues coordinating with state and local authorities as the investigation develops. This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
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40 minutes ago
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Minnesota shootings set off five-alarm fire in Congress
Members of Congress went into this weekend with their nerves already severely frayed. The shooting of two lawmakers in Minnesota on Saturday has sent those tensions over the edge. Why it matters: In discussions with Axios on Saturday, lawmakers in both parties described growing unease on Capitol Hill about the country's increasingly volatile political atmosphere — and what it means for their security. One senior House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive internal discussions, said text chains between members were "on fire" Saturday morning after the news of the shootings broke. Lawmakers "are scared," the senior Democrat said, and want "addresses hidden and security updates. They won't be silenced." A House Republican told Axios they responded to the news by immediately raising the issue of members' security with House leadership. What happened: Minnesota state House Leader Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark were shot and killed in their home in what President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi described as a "targeted" attack, Axios' Torey Van Oot, Nick Halter and Kyle Stokes reported. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were also shot in their home overnight. The suspect in the shootings was dressed as a police officer and left behind a manifesto naming many lawmakers, law enforcement said. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the shootings appeared to be a "politically motivated assassination." What they're saying: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said he asked the House sergeant-at-arms and Capitol Police to "ensure the safety of our Minnesota delegation and Members of Congress across the country." "Our country is on edge like never before," he said in a statement. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a post on X: "Such horrific political violence has no place in our society, and every leader must unequivocally condemn it." A Capitol Police spokesperson told Axios they are "aware of the violence targeting state lawmakers in Minnesota" and "have been working with our federal, state and local partners," but declined to offer further details. What we're hearing: "People are definitely at a heightened attention," a second House Democrat told Axios of their colleagues' states of mind following the shooting. A second House Republican who spoke to Axios said it is "important to wait and not jump to conclusions" until there is more information on the shooter's motive. However, they added, "if it ends up being politically motivated, [in my opinion] ALL Republicans need to come out swinging against political violence." Between the lines: The shootings come just days after Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) was held on the ground and handcuffed after attempting to confront Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference in Los Angeles. The incident sent shockwaves through Congress, with one House Democrat even berating a Republican colleague on the floor to "grow a pair of balls" and urge their colleagues denounce the incident. Padilla brief detention came on the heels of Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) being indicted over a scuffle with DHS officers and an aide to Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) being briefly handcuffed. Zoom out: While tensions have risen in recent months, members of Congress are no strangers to violence or threats of violence.
