"Lawyers Spar Over Inmate's Mental Level"

[GreenPartyVoter]

YORKTOWN, Va. (AP) - A lawyer for a death row inmate told jurors Tuesday his client was so limited mentally he couldn't get a driver's license or make the school football team. But a prosecutor said Daryl Atkins' claimed mental retardation was a ploy to avoid execution.

"None of his teachers, friends or family believed Daryl was mentally retarded until he was facing the death penalty," Commonwealth's Attorney Eileen Addison said during opening statements.

But defense lawyer Mark Olive portrayed Atkins as someone who struggled through life because of his limited mental abilities.

"He was teased unmercifully as a child because of mental slowness," Olive said.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20050726/D8BJ71081.html

[Goldmund]

1. Too dumb to make the football team?

Whoa.

That's dumb.