Jury must decide fate of mentally retarded man at center of Supreme Court decision News
Jury must decide fate of mentally retarded man at center of Supreme Court decision

[JURIST] Jury selection began today for the competency trial of Daryl Atkins, the plaintiff in the 2002 Supreme Court case Atkins v. Virginia [PDF Duke Law backgrounder; advocacy website] that abolished the death penalty for the severely mentally retarded by a 6-3 decision [text]. Atkins has been convicted of murder and sentenced to death; the issue now is whether Atkins is disabled or not within the context of the ruling. There is no clear legal standard for determining mental retardation, and while Atkins' IQ was tested as 58 in 1998, more recently he has scored significantly higher. Atkins and another man killed Eric Nesbitt, 21, in August 1996 for money to buy alcohol. AP has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Indian National Congress founded

The Indian National Congress (INC) was founded on December 28, 1885 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. In subsequent decades, the so-called Congress Party would advocate for Indian independence from the UK, which was eventually achieved in 1947. The first Prime Minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected as a member of the INC. Learn more about the history and founding of the Indian National Congress.

Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

Nepal ends monarchy, establishes republic

On December 28, 2007, the Kingdom of Nepal's interim parliament ended the country's monarchy and established the Republic of Nepal. Free elections were held on April 10 of the following year to elect a Constituent Assembly.

Learn more about the rise of democracy in Nepal.