House committee hears bill to change proof and timing for intellectual‑disability claims in Georgia capital cases

At a hearing of the Georgia House Noncivil Judiciary Committee, Representative Brett Werkheiser presented House Bill 123, which would change the standard of proof for claims that a defendant has an intellectual disability in capital cases from beyond a reasonable doubt to a preponderance of the evidence and require a separate pretrial determination of intellectual disability before the guilt phase.

The bill’s author, Representative Brett Werkheiser, told the committee the measure “does two things”: it lowers the burden of proof and moves the intellectual‑disability determination to a separate hearing before trial. Werkheiser said the change would align Georgia with other states and noted the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2002 decision in Atkins v. Virginia, which held that executing people with intellectual disability violates the Eighth Amendment. He also said the bill would apply only to future cases, not to people currently on death row: “it does not open the avenue for anybody…