Bill Would Limit Execution of Intellectually Disabled
Before Texas executed Marvin Wilson last year for the 1992 murder of Jerry Robert Williams in Beaumont, his case generated headlines, reminding the nation of a rather unique corner of death penalty law here.
The standards used to determine whether a Texan convicted of murder is mentally fit to be executed are based in part on the fictional character Lennie from John Steinbeck’s classic novel Of Mice and Men, a fact that enraged the author’s son.
"I find the whole premise to be insulting, outrageous, ridiculous and profoundly tragic,” Thomas Steinbeck said, calling for a halt to Wilson ...
Comments (7)
Death Breath
For those of you cretins who have never administered an intelligence test, let me enlighten you a bit. In my professional opinion, it is very important to use psychological measures that have validity indices built into them to identify those who have an atypical test-taking approach. For instance, the MMPI-2 & similar instruments possess validity indices & various measures to show over-reporting or under-reporting of psychopathology. Also, there is a scale to help better differentiate between purposeful over-reporting & questions answered by those in psychological distress. Some of these measures are controversial because they were not normed on a forensic population.
However, with intelligence testing, you don't have the luxury of an invalid profile similar to the objective personality tests. In fact, if you are not on your toes, you might be lead astray by a seasoned offender. Hence, clinical experience is valuable, particularly with the correctional population.
When it comes to the assessment of adaptive behavior, the waters become even more murky. Sometimes, several measures of such are required along with an informant who has an unbiased view of the respondent's independent functioning skills. Most of the time, adaptive behavioral assessments utilize direct care staff and family for this purpose. But, in prison or jail, you are sometimes limited to correctional staff to help in this assessment. Most of the time, this is a joke.
There are many variables to consider in an assessment of this population, particularly those suspected of having substandard intelligence. It is quite complex. A Psychologist in Texas discovered this when his adaptive behavior assessment strayed outside of the assessment standards. I might add, this Psychologist was assessing Death Row patients.
This clinician has administered many intelligence, adaptive behavioral, & objective personality tests over twenty-two years within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice including treatment team assessment of Death Row patients who experienced decompensation. In Texas & other states, you cannot willingly execute someone who is floridly psychotic.
Over the years, I learned that one of the most valuable factors in making an assessment involved the presence of a treatment and/or educational history consistent with the clinical presentation.
For example, when someone comes into the testing environment without a history of educational deficits & exhibits a substandard performance on a standardized intelligence measure, something is generally amiss. Proper assessment requires objectivity, skill, & specialized training. I would hate to have to lay this out for a jury to understand, particularly in Texas.
At this point in time, a person cannot be attached to a medical device to measure intelligence. You have to rely on experts. Psychological assessment is basically research-based art. If you don't know what you're doing, you are going to make a fine mess of things, even with Ph.D. behind your name!
Casey Bennett via Texas Tribune on Facebook
So 'dumber than a box of rocks' will be a defense?? At what point would you decide that someone is smarter than the next person,,,or vice versa?? You'll put an IQ test as a defense mechanism for rape, or murder?? I say that we need to have a couple of the rapists or murderers sit with his daughter or wife for a little while,,,,unattended, and see what HIS family has to say about it.
Dudley Sharp
Marvin Wilson was not retarded.
As shown in the appellate ruling, below, all indications in Wilson's life are that he was not mentally retarded, as the additional IQ tests, also below, confirm.
When I first heard about this case, it took me about 30 seconds to find this decision, below.
Wilson murdered police informant Jerry Williams, to protect Wilson's drug dealing.
Obviously, he knew exactly what he was doing and he planned it.
"The following evidence was presented in two hearings during the state habeas proceedings."
"Wilson presented school and prison training records, including standardized testing results. Five I.Q. scores are reflected in those reports. The first I.Q. test, the Lorge-Thorndike, was administered by Wilson’s school when he was approximately 13 years old. Wilson’s full-scale score on this test was 73. At age 29, Wilson was given an I.Q. test by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and scored 75. In April 2006, when Wilson was 46 and during the post-conviction proceedings, Wilson scored 61 on the WAIS III I.Q."
"Case: 09-70022 Document: 00511667534 Page: 10 Date Filed: 11/16/2011 test."
"On further testing by the defense, Wilson scored 75 on the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices and 79 on the TONI-II I.Q. tests. A score of 70 or below supports a finding of mental retardation. "
from
http://federal-circuits.vlex.com/vid/marvin-wilson-rick-thaler-director-332585578
Death Breath
Casey, you calloused comments are reflective of your soul, empty and shallow. Should someone with Down's Syndrome be put to death as well? Of course, this syndrome would be obvious to the layperson. I suppose I would be bitter and sad if I chose San Angelo as my city of residence. Yes, we live in a state full of Xians with absolutely no compassion. WWMFJD?
Death Breath
So, they administered the WAIS-III when the WAIS-IV was out? I believe I was trained on the administration of the WAIS-IV in Dallas, Texas before 2009. Why would the evaluator give dated intelligence tests? By the way, there is a TONI-III as well. I never ever stated that he was "mentally retarded." I've never met the fellow or administered tests to him.
Perhaps, they should administer a Rorschach & see how many responses he produces. I'm sure a digital audio recorder capable of recording 72 hours would be needed. But, why stick with current tests. Given the nature of the dated testing protocol, I suggest a round of Blackie Cards. That should do the trick.
Death Breath
So, technically speaking, he was in the Borderline range of intelligence, eh? I believe you might want to talk to TSBEP about the Psychologist who flew by the seat of his pants regarding adaptive behavior assessment for those on death row. He also surmised much information, but it was not all consistent with standardized testing procedures. Duh.
So, you're able to discern what a person was thinking during the commission of a crime? Wow. I would hate to have that task. How did you discern the content of thought, particularly at the time of the killing? Were you present?
Did you plug him into an IQ machine? No, you obviously guessed. The justice system in Texas has managed to kill innocent people. In essence, murders have been committed while the DA's aren't held accountable for their pervasive stupidity or worse, knowledge the person was really innocent. I'm afraid narcissistic injuries affect many in the court system.
Oh, this is getting rich. Please, tell me you're not making comparisons between intelligence quotients on different tests, particularly those with different standard deviations.
Oh, and if you really want to impress people, try asking for a SIRS (Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms).
Death Breath
Dear Pinhead: Let me enlighten you about something. TDCJ-ID does not administer IQ tests. They do give a Revised Beta IQ screening test when they first hit the system. I might add, there is no training provided to those that administer these tests. They are clerical staff. They don't have a formal training beyond a high school diploma. Hell, they are not proctored by a licensed Psychologist or LPC (exempt agency). In fact, there is absolutely no training for those that administer the Revised Beta Examination.
So, most of the time, the "IQ" shown on the travel card or educational computer portal is reflective of this "screening test." If & when offenders score low on this test, they are routed to the mental health staff. If mental retardation is suspected, they are referred for formal testing by a licensed clinician.
Here are some things I found while screening the low intelligence screening scores: a) some completed the tests without the aid of glasses. This surely might affect the results if the person could not see; b) some were given the intelligence screening in English and not their native tongue, a even more difficult task when the offender is from Laos; c) some were taking antipsychotic medication with very blurred vision. I could go on for hours.
But, be thankful. Texas is one of the only prison systems that tests intelligence. Even California does not test or isolate those with mental retardation. Texas has two such programs, formerly called MROP.