Ohio man with MR won't be executed, sentence commuted to life

From The AP:

TOLEDO, Ohio — A northwest Ohio man sentenced to die for beating his 87-year-old neighbor to death with a hammer in 1994 will instead serve a life sentence because he is mentally retarded.

The Nov. 12 decision in Lucas County Common Pleas Court to commute the death sentence of William Thomas of Toledo follows the Ohio Supreme Court's creation of a test to determine retardation.

The court says defendants who claim to be mentally retarded must show that they are well below average intelligence and lack fundamental social and practical skills.

Psychological testing during his trial showed Thomas had an IQ that was on the borderline of mental retardation.

The U.S. Supreme Court banned the death penalty for mentally retarded offenders in 2002.