Georgia committee hears HB 123 to change intellectual‑disability standard in capital cases

Summary

At a House Judiciary Non‑Civil Committee hearing, supporters urged lowering the burden to prove intellectual disability in death‑penalty cases and moving that determination to a separate pretrial proceeding; prosecutors warned the procedural changes would substantially delay or effectively end capital prosecutions. No vote was taken on the bill.

The Georgia House Judiciary Non‑Civil Committee held a hearing on House Bill 123, a measure that would lower the burden of proof for a defendant to show intellectual disability in capital cases and create a separate pretrial hearing to decide the issue, committee members and witnesses said.

Representative Werkheiser, the bill’s sponsor, told the committee that HB 123 "does two things." He said the bill would change "the standard of proof from beyond reasonable doubt to a preponderance of the evidence" and would require an early, separate hearing to determine whether a defendant has an intellectual disability before the guilt phase of a capital trial.

The change to the timing of the disability determination, Werkheiser and supporters said, is intended to avoid juror bias that can arise after jurors have seen graphic evidence in capital trials. "Capital punishment cases are very long and usually very…

Georgia committee hears HB 123 to change intellectual‑disability standard in capital cases

Summary

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