A Marshall County circuit judge is hearing arguments on whether a man accused of killing three people four years ago should receive the death penalty as his capital murder trial begins.
that the decision came after a defense witness testified that Jimmy O’Neal Spencer, 55, charged with capital murder, has an IQ lower than the U.S. Supreme Court’s recommended range for intellectual disability.
Spencer’s lawyers say he is not mentally competent to be executed, arguing in court documents last month that he is “intellectually disabled.” Prosecutors say his mental capacity shows he should be considered eligible.At the time of the murders, the homeless convict was a violent offender just out of prison. Authorities said Spencer strangled and stabbed Martin before taking off with an undisclosed amount of cash. Lee, they said, died from blunt force trauma.
Spencer had a string of arrests beginning in 1984 at the age of 19 involving violent offenses, and was twice sentenced to life imprisonment. Yet he was granted parole on Nov. 2, 2017 and released to a homeless shelter in Birmingham, where he was supposed to remain for six months. He left three weeks later.
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