ATLANTA—Double murderer Warren Lee Hill is facing his fourth execution date. Only in Georgia could a man with Hill’s level of intellectual disability be executed, according to Eric E. Jacobson.
“What it looks like is a very sad day,” said Jacobson, the executive director of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities (GCDD)—a federally funded, independent state agency that advocates on behalf of Georgians and families living with developmental disabilities.
In Georgia, a well-intentioned law meant to protect people with intellectual disabilities from the death penalty requires that the disability be proved “beyond a reasonable doubt,” instead of the standard every other state follows, “preponderance of the evidence,” according to Jacobson.
There has been no progress yet in passing legislation to change the law, said Jacobson. “The death penalty is a very emotional issue. Stepping out is very hard to do.”
