The Death Penalty and the Mentally Ill: A Selected and Annotated Bibliography

The United States Supreme Court over the last decade has selectively whittled away at the scope and availability of the death penalty by exempting certain groups from execution under the Eighth Amendment. In 2002 the court ruled that executing mentally retarded criminals violates the Constitution\u27s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. In 2005 the court ruled that the Constitution forbids the execution of individuals who were under the age of 18 when they committed their crimes. Currently there is an active debate on whether to extend the categorical exemptions created by the Court to the mentally ill. At the forefront of this debate is the American Bar Association, which issued a recommendation on the issue. This article presents research guidance and an annotated bibliography of selected print and electronic resources on the topic of the Death Penalty and the mentally ill