09 March 2025 :
March 4, 2025 - Georgia. HB 123l seeking to end death penalty for people with intellectual disabilities clears House
House lawmakers unanimously passed a measure Tuesday that is meant to ensure that people who are intellectually disabled are not executed in the future.
Today, Georgia is the only state with the death penalty that requires a defendant to prove beyond a reasonable doubt – the highest possible legal standard – that they are intellectually disabled.
The bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Bill Werkheiser, would lower the standard of proof to the “preponderance of the evidence” and create a separate pre-trial hearing focused on whether the defendant is intellectually disabled.
The bill moves to the Senate for consideration.
