Deaf = Retarded? Not Again.

The last time I checked, it was 2007, not 1964. The defense lawyers [Death penalty argued before trial, Execution of deaf woman would be cruel, lawyers say. Source: Argus Leader, Jan. 17, 2007] for accused murderer Daphne Wright are arguing in a pretrial motion that because Wright is deaf with limited English ability, she should not be put to death. They are saying she is like a juvenile or mentally retarded person even though she has an IQ that is over 100. (Keloland.com also has a similar article, "Unique Issues Arise in Wright Case" plus a video)

As stated in the About Deafness article Deaf, Not Retarded, deafness is NOT equivalent to mental retardation. I hope that the defense lawyers lose this motion, because this is a high-profile case and if they win this motion, the repurcussions for the deaf community could be enormous. It would mean that every time a deaf person with limited English committed a crime, all the defense lawyer would have to do would be cry "deaf and like a child! can't be put to death." In my opinion, it would set a dangerous precedent.

This would not be the first time that a deaf person escaped criminal justice because of having limited English. I do not remember when it happened and can not find the news source, but a few years ago there was another case of a deaf criminal who was found to have such limited English and lack of knowledge of sign language, that they could not put him on trial.

The motion will be heard on February 14, which happens to be Valentine's Day. There will be no more valentines for Darlene VanderGiesen.

http://deafness.about.com/b/a/257906.htm?terms=Lawyer+Articles