Photo by Julianna Leopold

ATLANTA—On Feb. 12, advocates from Georgians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (GFADP) gathered at the Georgia State Capitol to urge senators and representatives to protect individuals with intellectual disabilities from facing execution in this state.  

According to the GFADP website, “advocacy days at the Georgia Capitol give us the chance to connect directly with our state leaders.” On this day, the group set out to raise awareness and build momentum for the passage of House Bill 123, a proposed measure that would protect vulnerable individuals from the death penalty. 

Known as “Ring Around the Capitol,” the event started at 8 a.m. at nearby Trinity United Methodist Church. There, clergy members and representatives of partner organizations met to discuss the intentions and mission of the day. The Archdiocese of Atlanta, Georgia Catholics Against the Death Penalty and Catholic Mobilizing Network were among the dozen participating groups. 

“Georgia is a leader in secondary education for people with intellectual disabilities, and we care about people with intellectual disabilities,” Cathy Harmon-Christian, the executive director of GFADP said. She shared her wish for Georgia to stop executing people with intellectual disabilities and suggested the way to get there is by talking to legislators.  

Participants join hands making a ring inside the Georgia State Capitol building to raise awareness and peacefully protest the death penalty for people with intellectual disabilities in Georgia at a Feb. 12 day of advocacy. Photo by Julianna Leopold

Bishop Bernard E. Shlesinger III of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Bishop Robin Dease of the Georgia Episcopal Area of the United Methodist Church and Bishop Robert Wright of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta, joined the advocates throughout the day to show their continued support for GFADP’s efforts.  

“Thank you for your voices,” Bishop Shlesinger said to the group. “It’s an important thing that we speak for those with intellectual disabilities.”  

At 10 a.m., the group moved to the capitol, where they took seats in the Senate gallery and observed the legislative process. Bishop Dease was chosen as the Senate’s chaplain of the day and prayed for the senators and their work. After the session, advocates spoke to senators about their concern for defendants with intellectual disabilities. Later, participants met with representatives about the issue.

Georgia is the only state in the nation that requires a defendant to prove their intellectual disability beyond a reasonable doubt to be discharged from execution. This is the highest legal standard and because of this high burden of proof, no defendant in Georgia has successfully proven their intellectual disability since the Supreme Court’s ruling in Atkins v. Virginia in 2002. In the case, the Supreme Court ruled that executing those with intellectual disabilities violates the Eighth Amendment’s protection against cruel and unusual punishment. 

Advocates noted that a common concern with this standard of proof is that a defendant’s diminished capacity to prove their intellectual disability limits their ability to have concrete legal assistance and has often led to forced confessions for crimes they did not commit. Georgia risks executing people deemed ineligible for the death penalty, say advocates for the measure. 

Bernadette Naro, parishioner of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, holds her child as she listens to the press conference for Ring Around the Capitol, an advocacy day to end the death penalty for people with intellectual disabilities in Georgia. Photo by Julianna Leopold

HB123 is sponsored by Representative Bill Werkheiser and co-sponsored by Representatives Matt Reeves, Deborah Silcox, Scott Holcomb, Tyler Paul Smith and Stan Gunter with bipartisan support. The bill proposes that the standard of proof for intellectual disability be changed to the standard of preponderance of the evidence. The legislation would also create a pre-trial process in which the determination of intellectual disability occurs, instead of the current process where the jury determines intellectual disability at the same time as guilt or innocence.

The group held an afternoon press conference to talk about HB123 and to stress its importance. Following the conference, the multi-faith group gathered in a circle and sat in silence to pray for individuals with intellectual disabilities who have been executed in Georgia.  

Bernadette Naro, a parishioner of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, said the day was one to remember. Naro said that the sanctity of human life is an essential part of the faith, and that it was “great to do something concrete today to live into that mission of protecting life.”  

“As a Catholic, it’s been an issue that is really formative for me,” she shared. “With human dignity being the center of what we believe about Catholic social teaching, I see this as a really straightforward issue in terms of protecting the most vulnerable.”  

The day reached its emotional climax at 2 p.m. when bells from Central Presbyterian Church, the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and Trinity United Methodist Church rang in solidarity.  

“HB123 isn’t going to end the death penalty in Georgia,” Harmon-Christian said. “It’s not a death penalty abolition bill; it’s a bill that is about doing the right thing for people with intellectual disabilities.”