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RICHMOND -- A Fairfax County man convicted in the2002 Sussex Street slayingscould be executed in spite of evidence he is mentally retarded. The Virginia Attorney General"s office argued as much Tuesdaymorning in Richmond before a three-judge panel of the FourthCircuit Court of Appeals, citing appeals court decisions inunrelated cases last year. This is the second time Leon Winston"s case has been beforethe federal appeals court. Winston, 31, was sentenced to death in 2004 for the murders ofAnthony Robinson and Rhonda Whitehead two years earlier. Winston and a co-defendant broke into theSussex Streethome and shotthe two to death, according to evidence presented at trial.Whitehead, pregnant at the time, was gunned down in front of hertwo daughters. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the execution of the mentallyretarded is cruel and unusual punishment and is unconstitutional.Although Winston"s trial lawyers had evidence he was ofborderline intellect before the trial, the evidence was notpresented to a jury. An appointed mental health expert reported he didn"t believethey could prove Winston was retarded. His trial lawyers opted notto put on the expert, in part, because he also opined Winston mightbe a psychopath. But in the defense file, either missed or neglected, was a reportfrom the Fairfax County Public Schools in 1997 judging Winstonretarded. When the death penalty judgment was appealed to theSupreme Court of Virginia, the report was noted but defense lawyerssaid the underlying test scores no longer existed. "The jury never heard the words, ‘mentalretardation,"" attorney Jenny Givens told the judgesTuesday. Givens argued the trial lawyers were deficient for failing topresent evidence of mental retardation. Winston"s new lawyersasked the Supreme Court of Virginia for a new expert and an orderallowing them to explore the report. The state"s high courtdenied the requests and affirmed the death penalty punishment. And that, Senior Assistant Attorney General Katherine Burnettargued Tuesday, is where the federal courts" review shouldend based on decisions rendered last year by the U.S. Supreme Courtand the Fourth Circuit. If the state court has ruled on the issuenow before the federal court, the federal court cannot considerevidence not presented to the state court, she said. The review did not end there, though. In 2007, shortly before Winston was set to be executed, his newlawyers found the 1997 IQ test scores did exist. He had scored 66that year — below the threshold for a diagnosis of mentalretardation. A U.S. District Court judge inRoanokeheard the evidence in 2009.Although he did not find Winston"s trial lawyers wereineffective in finding the test scores, a Fourth Circuit panel in2010 reversed that decision. The 2010 Fourth Circuit panel found fault, too, with the SupremeCourt of Virginia"s refusal to allow Winston"s lawyersto develop the then-newly found evidence of mental retardation. Judge Roger Gregory told Burnett in this case the appeals courtdecided the state supreme court"s ruling was unreasonablebecause it cut off the defense"s ability to investigate the1997 test score. "Why would the Supreme Court of Virginia say no to discoverywhen there was an issue of mental retardation," he asked. Judge Albert Diaz also questioned whether the federal courts shouldbe restricted "no matter how sloppy" the statecourts" actions. "Do we sit by and let a person be executed with a(n IQ) scoreof 66," Gregory followed. The 2010 panel sent the case back to the U.S. District CourtinRoanoketo consider the new evidence of Winston's IQ and to takeup the issue of whether he should be executed if he is retarded. In May 2011, the district court judge found Winston"s triallawyers were deficient for not finding and presenting the mentalretardation evidence and ruled the case should be sent back tostate courts for a new trial. Burnett asked the court to reverse that decision. Givens told the judges both sides agree the case should be sentback to state court, saying there should be a new sentencinghearing as there is no provision for a mental retardation hearingunder state law. Opinions are released by the court daily, although there is no setschedule for a decision in any case. Winston remains on death row in Sussex State Prison. I am an expert from constant-current-leddriver.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Led Lighting Distributors , Dimmable Led Driver, Constant Voltage Led Driver,and more.
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