A LOOK AT HILL V . HUMPHREY ’ S PROCEDURAL UNDERMINING OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT OF THE INTELLECTUALLY DISABLED TO AVOID EXECUTION Christian

The death penalty serves two primary public interests: retribution and deterrence.1 Retribution is the interest that the offender receives punishment in accordance with the culpability of the offender.2 Deterrence is the public interest in discouraging potential offenders from committing capital crimes.3 Implementing the death penalty on the intellectually disabled4 does not satisfy these interests for at least two reasons.5 First, society views intellectually disabled offenders as less culpable than offenders without intellectual disabilities.6 Second, evidence shows that intellectually disabled offenders act more on impulse than on premeditated plans.7 Because imposing the death penalty on an intellectually disabled offender fails to contribute to the two pri-