Killer's fate hanging on his IQ
The life of a convicted murderer is hanging in the balance while a US jury considers whether his intelligence has increased enough to allow him to be put to death.
Daryl Atkins was named in a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2002 that said it was unconstitutional to execute the mentally retarded.
But the intellectual stimulation the killer got by constant contact with lawyers in the case is thought to have raised his IQ above the threshold of 70, which puts him in line for the death penalty in Virginia.
The 27-year-old's case has divided lawyers and psychologists and has become the latest battleground for those arguing for and against state-sanctioned executions in America.
It raises questions over who should decide on a criminal's competency and whether knowing details of their crime can skew that life-or-death decision.
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