Marvin Wilson

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Marvin Lee Wilson (born January 5, 1958 in Jefferson , Texas - † August 7, 2012 in Huntsville , Texas) was an American citizen who was executed for murder by lethal injection . His execution was criticized around the world and also in the United States because of his possible mental retardation.

prehistory

Wilson grew up in poor conditions. There have been indications of an intellectual disability since the beginning of his school days, when he was noticed by bad grades. He was ridiculed by his classmates as "stupid" and "lagging behind". According to his sister Kim Armstrong, Wilson remained “exceptionally childlike” as an adult. He earned his living doing odd jobs. A son who had grown up at the time of Wilson's execution comes from a partnership with his then partner.

Act, trial and imprisonment

Marvin Wilson was sentenced to death by a Texas court for the murder of a police informant in 1992 . Wilson's low intelligence quotient (short: IQ) was discussed in the process. The prosecutor had argued during the trial that the intelligence test , in which the low IQ had been determined, was from 2004 and was flawed. Other research since then has shown that Wilson should not be classified as mentally retarded. The manner in which he used to act as a drug dealer and how he carried out the murder also indicated skills that would exceed those of a mentally handicapped person.

Marvin Wilson had an IQ of 61 points in the test. In general, 70 points are considered the threshold for intellectual disability .

Wilson was on death row for 18 years .

execution

The US Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that the mentally handicapped should not be sentenced to death ( Atkins v. Virginia ). However, the court then left the definition of “intellectual disability” to the individual US states . According to the Texas definition, Wilson was not mentally retarded.

On August 7, 2012, the Supreme Court rejected a final attempt by Wilson's attorneys to prevent the execution. Marvin Wilson's lawyers had asserted that her client only had an IQ of 61 and was therefore clearly mentally retarded. Human rights organizations protested sharply against the planned execution.

On the evening of August 7, 2012, Marvin Wilson was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville State Prison.

See also

  • Yokamon Hearn , executed in July 2012 in Huntsville, Texas, who was also suspected of having an intellectual disability.
  • Warren Lee Hill , man executed in Jackson, Georgia in January 2015 who was also suspected of having an intellectual disability.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ John Rudolf: Marvin Wilson, Texas Man With 61 IQ, To Be Executed In Days , huffingtonpost.com, August 3, 2012 (accessed August 9, 2012).
  2. ↑ Texas executes the mentally handicapped , sueddeutsche.de, August 8, 2012 (accessed August 9, 2012).
  3. ↑ Texas: Mentally Handicapped Executed , initiative-gegen-die-todesstrafe.de of August 8, 2012 (accessed on August 9, 2012).
personal data
SURNAME Wilson, Marvin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wilson, Marvin Lee
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American murderer
DATE OF BIRTH 5th January 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH Jefferson , Texas, United States
DATE OF DEATH August 7, 2012
Place of death Huntsville , Texas, United States