Georgia committee hears bill to change how intellectual disability claims are decided in capital cases

The Georgia House Judiciary Committee met for a hearing on House Bill 123 on a bill presented as altering how claims of intellectual disability are handled in capital cases.

Representative Werkheiser presented House Bill 123, saying the measure would do two things: change the standard of proof for intellectual disability from beyond a reasonable doubt to a preponderance of the evidence, and require a separate, pretrial hearing on the question of intellectual disability before the trial. “I believe it is incumbent upon the state to protect those who cannot protect themselves,” Representative Werkheiser said when introducing the bill.

The bill’s proponents, including Maisie Lynn Gertin of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, told the committee Georgia is an outlier for requiring jurors to decide intellectual disability by a beyond-a-reasonable-doubt standard while simultaneously deciding guilt.…