Defense for Decatur man charged with capital murder in 2018 files to bar death penalty due to ‘intellectual disability'
DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — The defense team for a Decatur man charged with capital murder in 2018 has filed a motion for the judge to bar the death penalty because of an intellectual disability, court documents say.
Kendall Rashaid Rucker faces seven capital murder charges for the shooting deaths of David Gullatte, 31, and Sharonda Bouldin, 27, as he 'knowingly and unlawfully entered or remained' in their home in 2018.
In April, the State filed a motion stating it intended to seek the death penalty because Rucker 'caused the death of two or more persons by one act' and 'the capital offense was committed by the defendant while engaged in the commission of, or attempt to commit, a robbery or burglary.'
In March, the court found Rucker competent to stand trial following a court-ordered mental examination and a hearing. However, Rucker's defense has now filed a motion to strike the death penalty as an option.
On June 5, the defense said Rucker meets the criteria for intellectual disability because he displays 'significant subaverage intellectual functioning, as demonstrated by his IQ score of 73, lack of academic accomplishment and other related factors,' as well as stating that he suffers from 'significant deficits in adaptive functioning, including substantial deficits in his conceptual, social, and practical skills,' and finally that the deficits 'manifested' during the developmental period.
The defense says that, because of his intellectual disability, the State cannot seek the death penalty against Rucker because it violates the Eighth Amendment. Citing Atkins v. Virginia, 536 U.S. 304 (2002), 'the United States Supreme Court found that intellectual disability lessens an individual's 'personal culpability' for a crime because the person has 'diminished capacities to understand and process information, to communicate, to abstract from mistakes and learn from experience, to engage in logical reasoning, to control impulses, and to understand the reactions of others.''
Also cited in this motion to bar the death penalty for Rucker, court documents say, Atkins defined intellectual disability as someone who has 'subaverage intellectual functioning [and] significant limitations in adaptive skills such as communication, self-care, and self-direction that became manifest before age 18.'
The American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities says that one way to measure intellectual functioning is an IQ test. 'Generally, an IQ test score of around 70 or as high as 75 indicates a significant limitation in intellectual functioning,' AAIDD says. The organization also says that this condition starts in the developmental period, which is defined as 'before the age of 22.'
At the time of this incident in 2018, Rucker was 22, per the Decatur Police Department.
Rucker's defense said, according to court documents, Robert Shaffer, Ph.D., a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist and neuropsychologist, evaluated Mr. Rucker to determine whether he suffers from intellectual disability.
'IQ testing that Dr. Shaffer administered reveals Mr. Rucker'sgeneral intelligence falls in the significantly substandard range (Full Scale Score of 73). The lowest cognitive skills involve understanding of verbal information (Verbal Comprehension Index, composite score of 72, in the 3rd percentile) and retaining and applying information (Working Memory Index, composite score of 74, in the 4th percentile). Mr. Rucker's overall score and two of his domain scores are consistent with APA and AIDD guidance on the intellectual functioning criterion.'
Court Documents
You can read the full motion filed below.
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In light of Rucker's intellectual disability, the defense asks the court for the following relief:
Schedule an evidentiary at which Mr. Rucker may present evidence in support of this motion.
Order the State to provide Mr. Rucker with any discovery that directly or indirectly supports his intellectual disability claim.
Grant this motion, find that Mr. Rucker has intellectual disability, and bar the State from seeking or imposing the death penalty in this case.
Rucker currently has a hearing set for June 23 and also his jury trial is set for August 18, according to court documents.
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