Court to rule on mental requirement for death penalty

The Georgia Supreme Court heard a case Monday that could change the way mental retardation is assessed in death penalty cases.

James Randall Rogers of Floyd County is on death row because when he was 19, he killed his elderly neighbor with a rake handle.

It is unconstitutional to execute the mentally retarded, but Rogers scored too high on an IQ test to receive that label. Yet his attorney, Ralph Knowles, says as a child, Rogers suffered severe brain injuries that have prevented him from functioning normally.

"You have to look at the underpinnings of why you can't execute the mentally retarded," Knowles says. "If Mr. Rogers or any other person meets that criteria, they should be categorically excluded from being executed."

Moreover, Knowles argued, the person who gave Rogers the IQ test was unqualified.

Prosecutors say Rogers is competent enough to receive the death penalty. They say he is a "voracious reader" who used the prison law library.

The Court will rule by spring.