Implications of Atkins v. Virginia: Issues in Defining and Diagnosing Mental Retardation

The 2002 Supreme Court decision in Atkins v. Virginia prohibited the execution of defendants with mental retardation and required that professional standards be applied in the diagnosis of mental retardation in capital cases. Mental retardation diagnostic issues in Atkins cases can include: difficulties of retrospective data gathering, disagreement over the appropriate times of life at which mental retardation must be documented, difficulties in assessing adaptive behavior in the restricted environment of the prison, and the possibility of malingering. This article reviews the implications of Atkins for assessment and diagnosis of mental retardation and makes suggestions for forensic psychology practice.