Is justice served by executing a man with the mind of a 10-year-old?
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New
Case Developement: On August 10,
2011, the California Supreme Court directed the Santa Clara County Superior
Court to hold a hearing to consider the evidence that David Raley is
mentally retarded. If the court finds him to be retarded, he would be
resentenced to life without parole. The schedule for the proceedings
in the superior court has not yet been set. The case will be decided
by a judge alone, without a jury. |
For the
past 23 years inmate David Raley has been incarcerated on Death Row at San
Quentin Prison, after he was found guilty of kidnapping two teenage girls,
one of whom died from injuries he inflicted.
David is autistic and mentally retarded, conditions that were undiagnosed
until recently. Although his crime is tragic and inexcusable, we believe his
diminished mental competence makes execution an inappropriate punishment.
We urge Governor Brown to commute David’s sentence to life imprisonment
without the possibility of parole. Doing so would ensure David’s continued
incarceration and punishment, while acknowledging the impact his severe mental
impairments had on his actions.