Mental Deficiency in

Crime
Group II
Galvez, Kristine Joy
Kairupan, Gerald Immanuel
Panduyos, Master Hope Elmer II
Refuerzo, Katrina Concesa
Tjakrapawira, Victor Noli Mattathias
Definitions of Mental Retardation
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
("DSM-IV")
someone who has "significantly subaverage
general intellectual functioning" accompanied
with "significant limitations in adaptive
functioning in at least 2 of the following skill areas:
Communication
self-care
home living
social/interpersonal skills
use of community
resources
self-direction
functional academic skills
Work
Leisure
Health
safety
Definitions of Mental Retardation
To fit within this definition, one's intellectual
and adaptive deficits must manifest
themselves by the time the individual is 18
years old
A determination that an individual has sub-
average intelligence is based on Intelligence
Quotient ("IQ") scores that may be obtained
through the administration of one of several
standardized intelligence tests, including
Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children--
Revised, Stanford-Binet, and Kaufman
Assessment Battery for children.
Definitions of Mental Retardation
The mean score for intelligence is an IQ of 100.
The DSM-IV rates the following IQ scores as
indicative of mental retardation:
IQ 50-55 to approximately 70: mild mental
retardation
IQ 35-40 to 50-55: moderate mental
retardation
IQ 20-25 to 35-40: severe mental retardation
IQ below 20-25: profound mental retardation
Definitions of Mental Retardation
However, the DSM-IV notes that individuals
with IQ 71-75 mentally retarded if they
have significant deficits in adaptive
functioning
Individuals' adaptive functioning "refers to
how effectively individuals cope with
common life demands and how well they
meet the standards of personal
independence expected of someone in their
particular age group, socio-cultural
background, and community setting."
Definitions of Mental Retardation
DSM-IV notes that "adaptive functioning may be
influenced by various factors, including education,
motivation, personality characteristics, social and
vocational opportunities, and the mental disorders
and general medical conditions that may coexist
with Mental retardation.
Like IQ scores, certain standardized tests like
medical evaluations and school assessments are
used to measure one's adaptive functioning skills.
In addition, problems in adaptation are more likely
to improve with remedial efforts than is the cognitive
IQ, which tends to remain a more stable attribute."
Definitions of Mental Retardation
Persons classified as mildly retarded, formerly
referred to as "educable," constitute approximately
85% of the mentally retarded population."
These mildly retarded individuals have a substantial
disability.
They can attain academic skills only up to a 6
th

grade level.
Such individuals may achieve skills adequate for
self-support; however, to achieve independence in
living, these individuals may require supervision,
guidance, and other support.
Definitions of Mental Retardation
Persons with moderate mental retardation
comprise 10% of the mentally retarded population
These individuals are unlikely to attain academic
skills beyond the 2nd grade level.
Moderately retarded individuals can attend to their
personal care with moderate supervision, may
perform unskilled or semi-skilled work under
supervision, and may learn to travel to familiar
places independently.
During adolescence, they may have difficulty
recognizing social conventions, and this difficulty
may interfere with relationships with peers.
Definitions of Mental Retardation
3-4% of the mentally retarded population are
classified as severely retarded
The severely retarded may learn to talk
during the school-age period and may be
trained in elementary self-care skills.
The profoundly retarded, which constitute
1-2% of the mentally retarded population,
display considerable impairments and
require constant care in a highly structured
setting.
Definitions of Mental Retardation
The AAMR sets forth similar, although not
identical, standards for determining mental
retardation.
According to the AAMR, a person is deemed
mentally retarded if he or she has:
(1) an IQ below 70-75,
(2) concurrently existing with limitations in
two or more adaptive skill areas,
(3) which is manifested by age eighteen
Definitions of Mental Retardation
AAMR no longer uses the terms "mild,"
"moderate," "severe," and "profound" to
describe an individual's mental retardation
Instead, the AAMR has developed a "Profile
and Intensities of Needed Supports," which
sets out levels of support that a mentally
retarded person may require
This profile is intended to allow a more
functional, service-oriented description of the
mentally retarded individual

Mental Retardation as
Distinguished from Mental Illness
For centuries, the law has recognized that an
individual's mental retardation may affect his or
her capacity to face criminal charges and be
found criminally liable.
At common law, persons who were defined as
"idiots," which today would correspond with the
DSM-IV's classification of severely or
profoundly retarded, 53 were not subject to
criminal liability.
This rule, with its corollary that "lunatics" were
also excluded from criminal liability, was the
precursor to the modem insanity defense."
Mental Retardation as
Distinguished from Mental Illness
In this context, the term "idiot" usually
referred to a person with such a limited
reasoning capacity that he could not form
the requisite criminal intent or could not
distinguish between good and evil
A few states still use the term "idiot" and
provide a corresponding exemption from
criminal liability."
However, in general, modern laws subject
persons with mental retardation to criminal
liability
Mental Retardation as
Distinguished from Mental Illness
In the early twentieth century, the mentally retarded
were viewed as threatening, dangerous, and a
source of criminal conduct or immoral behavior."
The eugenics movement advocated sterilization and
segregation of the mentally retarded positions that
met with remarkable success in the political and
judicial arenas.
By the middle of the century, however, society
soundly rejected this view of the mentally retarded.
It is now well-accepted that mental retardation
rarely, if ever, causes criminal behavior.
Mental Retardation as
Distinguished from Mental Illness
Nonetheless, mental retardation may have a
significant impact on an individual who finds himself
involved with the criminal justice system, particularly in
the context of confessions and interrogations.
It is well recognized that mental retardation is not a per
se bar to voluntary interrogations and confessions,
although it may be a factor to be weighed in evaluating
the voluntariness of a confessions
Many mentally retarded people may be less likely to
withstand police coercion or pressure due to their
limited communication skills, their predisposition to
answer questions so as to please the questioner rather
than to answer the question accurately, and their
tendency to be submissive
Mental Retardation as
Distinguished from Mental Illness
Further, it is not unusual for a mentally
retarded individual to have an incomplete or
immature concept of blame and/or causation
This characteristic may cause the mentally
retarded defendant to confess to an act he
did not commit, or to accept greater blame or
responsibility for criminal activity than he
realistically should
Accordingly, the veracity and accuracy of a
confession by a person with mental
retardation may be suspect.
Mental Retardation as
Distinguished from Mental Illness
Further, mental retardation, in and of itself, does not
render an individual incompetent to stand or
incompetent to enter a guilty plea
However, certain characteristics that are common
among people with mental retardation, such as the
tendency to be easily led, a poor understanding of
the consequences of one's actions, the desire to
hide one's mental retardation, and the desire to
please authority figures, can affect the quality and
ability of a mentally retarded person to make
decisions that are in his best interest."
Mental Retardation as
Distinguished from Mental Illness
Thus, the ability of the mentally retarded
defendant to assist counsel in preparing a
case and in making critical decisions about
the course of a capital murder trial may be
compromised.
Beaufort County submits mental-health records
to gun background-check system
BY LAURA OBERLE AND ZACH MURDOCK
Beaufort County has submitted
1,083 mental-health records to the
S.C. Law Enforcement Division to
comply with a year-old law intended
to prevent those with mental
illnesses from buying firearms.
Boland Bill" was named after a
mentally ill Lady's Island woman,
Alice Boland, who was charged with
brandishing and attempting to fire a
handgun outside a private school in
Charleston last year.
Boland, 30, was charged with attempting to fire
a .22-caliber gun outside Ashley Hall girls school
in downtown Charleston last year.
The gun was loaded when Boland pulled the
trigger, but didn't fire because there was no
round in the chamber, authorities have said.
After Boland's arrest, court documents revealed
she had a history of mental illness. In 2005, she
was charged with threatening the lives of
President George W. Bush and other federal
officials. A judge declared Boland mentally
incompetent, and the charges were dismissed
when she pleaded guilty by reason of insanity in
2009.
Nonetheless, Boland cleared the background
check when she bought the handgun from
the Walterboro store.
Authorities said her court history had not
been reported.
While South Carolina's law takes effect, a
federal bill sponsored by U.S. Sen. Lindsey
Graham, also in reaction to the Boland case,
has stalled.
Graham's bill also seeks to prevent the
mentally ill who are a danger to themselves
or others from purchasing firearms.
Boland has been charged by the state with
attempted murder, two counts of pointing a
firearm, unlawful carrying of a firearm and
possession of a firearm during the commission of
a violent crime.
She is being held at the Al Canon Detention
Center in North Charleston in lieu of $900,000
bond, according to the jail log.
Attempts to reach the 9th Circuit Solicitor's
Office, which is prosecuting the state charges,
were unsuccessful.
Boland also has been indicted on four federal
charges: making a false statement to purchase a
firearm; illegally possessing a firearm because of
her status as a person who had been previously
committed to a mental institution or who had
been adjudicated as mentally incompetent;
possession of a firearm in a school zone and
attempted discharge of a firearm in a school
zone.
That case was sealed in July 2013 by the U.S.
District Court in Charleston, so more information
on the case will not be available until the
proceedings are over, said U.S. Attorney's Office
spokeswoman Beth Drake.