I read in CNN that today, Texas executed another person.  That (unfortunately) is not really “news” – Texas executed 13 men in 2011 (as far as I can tell, no women were executed).  Today’s execution was particularly troubling to me.  Marvin Wilson was convicted for the shooting death of a 21-year-old man in 1992.

The troubling part is that Wilson’s IQ had been measured at 61, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, which opposed the execution.

In an online posting, the ACLU said Wilson, 54, had been declared “intellectually disabled” by a court-appointed neuropsychologist.

“Despite all the signs of Mr. Wilson’s intellectual disabilities and the diagnosis of the court-appointed neuropsychologist, the District Court of Jefferson County (Texas) concluded that Mr. Wilson is not mentally retarded,” the ACLU posting said, with “not” italicized for emphasis.

Before he was put to death, Wilson made a final statement in which he said, “Ya’ll do understand that I came here a sinner and leaving a saint. Take me home, Jesus, take me home, Lord.”

Wilson was convicted in the shooting death of Jerry Robert Williams in Beaumont, Texas. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Williams was abducted and shot after a “physical confrontation” between the two men.

Some countries have histories of gruesome punishment of children and mentally ill.  The history in the USA has been to require those punished to actually know and understand their actions.

If you look at the bell-shaped curve of IQ such as one shown here, you will find that a 61 is just barely on the left edge of the bell.  In other words, barely even registering on the graphic of the range of intelligence in this country.  I believe it is shameful, as bad as a crime may be, to execute a man who is on par, mentally, with a small child.

What do you think?