Thanks for visiting! Welcome to a new way to research case law. You are viewing a free summary from Descrybe.ai. For citation and good law / bad law checking, legal issue analysis, and other advanced tools, explore our Legal Research Toolkit — not free, but close.
State ex rel. Ward v. Butler
Citations: 534 So. 2d 965; 1988 La. LEXIS 2772; 1988 WL 138914Docket: No. 88-KP-3018
Court: Supreme Court of Louisiana; December 29, 1988; Louisiana; State Supreme Court
The court granted a stay of execution for Thomas Lee Ward, responding to his claim of mental retardation and the argument that executing someone who was mentally retarded at the time of the offense constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. This decision was influenced by the pending U.S. Supreme Court case Penry v. Lynaugh, which relates to similar issues. The court noted that since the Penry case is still undecided, the execution warrant set for January 20, 1989, is vacated and set aside. Justices Marcus, Watson, and Cole expressed a dissenting opinion, indicating they would deny the stay.