Robert Ladd; Texas; This man who suffers from "intellectual disability" - and cannot be executed under the U.S. Constitution - is set to be killed tomorrow (Thursday 29 January, 2015) because "the Court of Criminal Appeals -- the highest court in Texas for criminal cases -- has dodged this simple rule by applying its own stereotypes, rather than science, to craft a definition of intellectual disability." Defence attorney Mark E. Olive; The Huffington Post.

STORY: "Texas sending man to death chamber Thursday based on 'Of Mice and Men," by Mark E. Olive, capital defence attorney,  published by the Huffington Post on January 28, 2015.

GIST: "Under the federal Constitution, if a defendant has intellectual disability he or she cannot be executed. But the Court of Criminal Appeals -- the highest court in Texas for criminal cases -- has dodged this simple rule by applying its own stereotypes, rather than science, to craft a definition of intellectual disability. In doing so, the court announced that it would not provide protections for persons who are less disabled than Lennie Small without more direction from the Texas legislature..........For a mental health professional utilizing accepted clinical standards, the diagnosis is clear and straightforward: Robert Ladd has intellectual disability. He is not Lennie, but as Thomas Steinbeck puts it: "the character of Lennie was never intended to be used to diagnose a medical condition like intellectual disability." By requiring that a person match a character in a novella in order to be afforded the protections of the Constitution, Texas has strangely, and tragically, turned fiction into fact."

The entire story can be  found at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-e-olive-/robert-ladd-execution_b_6566194.html?utm_hp_ref=politics&ir=Politics

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.
 
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;