|
Darrick Walker
In September, 1998, Darrick Demorris Walker was
sentenced to death for the capital murders of Stanley Roger Beale and Clarence
Threat. Beale was killed in November, 1996 and Threat in June, 1997. Under
Virginia's capital murder statute, a defendant may be sentenced to death
for the killing of more than one person within a three-year period.Walker
has always maintained his innocence. Walker was also
convicted of two counts of burglary and was sentenced to life imprisonment
for each, as well as four counts of the use of a firearm in the commission
of a felony for which he was sentenced to 18 years.
But Walker is mentally retarded; to follow through with the execution would
be a violation of the U.S. constitution, as decided in Atkins v. Virginia
(2002.)
Darick’s trial was beset by errors from the beginning. His counsel
failed to make any objection to the joined trial of the two wholly unrelated
murders; failed to put on an adequate defense, including a failure to challenge
highly questionable scientific evidence; and failed to do an adequate investigation
in preparation for the sentencing phase, which included a failure to determine
Walker’s mental retardation. The whole trial, including jury selection, the
guilt phase, jury deliberations and sentencing, lasted only two days.
Walker appealed his capital murder conviction
to the Supreme Court of Virginia, but was denied relief. On appeal, Walker
alleged numerous trial court errors including the court's failure to order
the prosecution to issue Walker a bill of particulars outlining the grounds
for the capital murder charge and the evidence on which the prosecution intended
to rely. Walker argued that a refusal to issue the bill of particulars undermined
his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel. The court
disagreed, stating that the ordering of a bill of particulars is not constitutionally
required and is within the discretion of the trial court.
Darick Walker has a long documented history of mental retardation. In the
third grade he was placed in special education by the Norfolk public school
system, and by the time he should have been in sixth grade he was reading
at a third grade level. When he was eleven, Darick was sent by the public
school system to be evaluated by an outside specialist who found his performance
on a standardized test to be “similar to what would be expected of the typical
six year old child…and individuals who are mentally retarded.” His most recent
test showed him having an IQ of 61.
Evidence of a low IQ and inability to adapt socially form the bulk of the
American Association on Mental Retardation’s (AAMR) definition of mental
retardation. The AAMR also states that evidence of the disability arises
before the age of 18, which is clearly established by Darick’s school records.
Darick’s claim of mental retardation is currently pending in the Federal
Court.
The federal judge only recently blocked the Commonwealth from setting
an execution date of August 20 - highlighting how, even after the Atkins
decision, the Commonwealth is acting recklessly in regards to executing the
mentally retarded.
The compelling evidence regarding Darick’s mental retardation, and
also the ineffectiveness of his counsel, should at least lead to a commutation
to a life sentence, and if justice is to be truly served, a re-trial.
Walker is one of seven children and grew up in
the Norfolk, VA area. As an adult, he spent a good deal of time in Richmond,
VA, where he has several relatives. Family members said that the man described
by the prosecution's witnesses was not the Darrick Walker that they know.
Walker's brother, to whom he was very close, expressed sympathy for the
victims, but tearfully stated that killing Walker would not bring them back.
Walker has been on death row since September
1, 1998.
|