"Georgia reviews death penalty provision; For the mentally disabled, a strict burden of proof" by Kate Brumback | Associated Press, October 20, 2013
ATLANTA — The state that was the first to pass a law prohibiting the execution of mentally disabled death row inmates is revisiting a requirement for defendants to prove the disability beyond a reasonable doubt — the strictest burden of proof in the nation.
A state House committee will hold an out-of-session meeting Thursday to seek input from the public. Other states that impose the death penalty have a lower threshold for proving mental disability, and some don’t set standards at all.
Just because lawmakers are holding a meeting does not mean changes to the law will be proposed, and the review absolutely is not a first step toward abolishing Georgia’s death penalty, said State Representative Rich Golick, a Republican from Smyrna and chairman of the House Judiciary Non-Civil Committee.
Georgia’s law is the strictest in the United States even though the state was also the first, in 1988, to pass a law prohibiting the execution of mentally disabled death row inmates. The US Supreme Court followed suit in 2002, ruling that the execution of mentally disabled offenders is unconstitutional.
The Georgia law’s toughest-in-the-nation status compels lawmakers to review it, Golick said. ‘‘When you’re an outlier, you really ought not to stick your head in the sand,’’ he said. ‘‘You need to go ahead and take a good, hard look at what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, weigh the pros and cons of a change, and act accordingly or not.’’
Thursday’s meeting comes against the backdrop of the case of Warren Lee Hill....
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The Globe must have put it to rest because there was no follow-up.
Also see: Gunman sentenced in Georgia baby’s death
I say execute him.
Related:
Georgia Killing Shows Need For Gun Control
Georgia School Psyop is Laughable
Interesting that the black killing white doesn't generate as much attention as Zimmerman.
And if you happen to stay alive in Atlanta:
"Atlanta effort reduces homelessness" Associated Press, September 30, 2013
ATLANTA — Hundreds of homeless veterans and other chronically homeless people are being helped by an Atlanta initiative aimed at getting people into permanent housing in a city that for years has struggled to keep people off the streets.
The city is well on its way to meeting its goal of finding homes for 800 people this year, with already more than 700 in homes.
More than 6,000 homeless people live in metro Atlanta, according to a count in January.
I don't want to knock the effort pers e; however, that is not much of a percentage of success.
Atlanta’s ‘‘Unsheltered No More’’ initiative is in keeping with a national movement toward a ‘‘housing first’’ approach, which advocates say is focused first and foremost on getting the homeless off the streets and then providing them with any services and other help they may need.
‘‘Atlanta is a really turnaround story in the last year,’’ said Jake Maguire, communications director for the 100,000 Homes Campaign, a national group working to find permanent homes for 100,000 of the nation’s most vulnerable homeless. ‘‘They have been able to make tremendous change in a short amount of time.’’
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I think homelessness is funny, don't you?
Can't anyone find a fraudulently foreclosed upon home where they could be billeted?
