Supreme Court Gives Ohio Another Chance For Death Penalty

The Supreme Court gave the State of Ohio another chance to put a man that may be mentally retarded to death. In 2002, the Supreme Court ruled that mentally retarded defendants cannot be put to death. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the death sentence of Michael Bies after the Ohio Supreme Court had determined that Bies had an IQ of 69 and was mentally retarded. The Ohio Supreme Court determination was made before the U.S. Supreme Court's 2002 ruling barring the execution of mentally retarded defendants. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Appeals acted too quickly when it thew out the death sentence. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in the majority opinion that "mental retardation was not a conclusive or necessary determination in any Ohio court proceeding to date." A new hearing will be held and Bies will argue that he is mentally retarded and should be spared the death penalty, and prosecutors will try to rebut his claim and argue that he is deserving of being put to death for murdering a 10 year old boy who refused to perform a sex act.

The case is Bobby v. Bies, 08-598.

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