In Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the Supreme Court ruled that it was cruel and unusual punishment to execute ______.

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In Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute individuals with intellectual disabilities because it violated the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. The Court held that executing people with intellectual disabilities would not serve the retributive or deterrent purposes of capital punishment, and that such individuals were more vulnerable to coercion and less able to defend themselves in legal proceedings.

In Atkins V