titutional challenges to a conviction or sentence. Congress sharply curtailed the federal courts' habeas corpus jurisdiction in a 1996 law that the Supreme Court is still in the process of interpreting. The justices permitted a lawyer for the State of Alabama to argue today as a friend of the court on behalf of Texas that the court should use the Penry case to limit federal judges' discretion further. It did not matter for the purposes of habeas corpus review whether the jury instructions were incorrect or could have been better, the lawyer, Gene C. Schaerr, told the justices, as long as they were reasonable. Justice Stephen G. Breyer expressed alarm at this argument, saying, "I'm worried about the implications there for compliance by a state with the mandate of the Supreme Court." March 27, 2001 National Justices to Review Issue of Executing Retarded Killers By LINDA GREENHOUSE •Justices Return to Old Case of Condemned Retarded Killer (Mar 28, 2001) •Court to Review Death Penalty for Mentally Retarded (Mar 26, 2001) •Missouri Set to Execute Retarded Man (Mar 06, 2001) Find more related articles by selecting from the following topics: Suits and Litigation Decisions and Verdicts Sex Crimes Crime and Criminals ASHINGTON, March 26 — The Supreme Court announced today that it would decide whether a growing national consensus against the execution of mentally retarded murderers meant that such executions should be deemed unconstitutional as "cruel and unusual punishment" in violation of the Eighth Amendment. The case, to be argued next fall, could produce the court's most important ruling on the death penalty in years. Experts say about 10 percent of the 3,600 prisoners on death row are mentally retarded, meaning they have I.Q. scores of less than 70. To decide the issue, the court agreed to hear an appeal by an inmate on North Carolina's death row, Ernest P. McCarver, with an I.Q. of 67. Twelve year...
