Mental Retardation and the Death Penalty in the U. S. A.
Capital punishment is popular in the United States. Thirty-eight states plus the federal military have death penalty laws.
The death penalty is not so popular when it comes to people who have mental retardation. Even though an estimated 35 people with mental retardation have been executed under capital punishment laws since 1977, many states either do not allow such executions or are moving in that direction.