Flowers for Atkins

Jury selection began today in the trial of Daryl Atkins, a man twice convicted of a 1996 homicide. Atkins’ life has been spared to date because of the conclusion that he is retarded and his execution would therefore be unconstitutional. That conclusion will be revisited during the course of the trial, and if reversed, will result in Atkins’ death.

The BBC has a quick primer here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4716225.stm

What really caught my attention was the following excerpt:

“Virginia requires an inmate to have had an IQ of 70 or less, combined with poor social skills by the age of 18. "

“Atkins, 27, was not tested as a youth but he scored 59 in 1998, and 76 more recently.”

The case, while interesting for its bearing on capital punishment in general and the 8^th Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment in particular, also raises two questions:

1. Are they running some kind of “Flowers for Algernon” experiment in the Commonwealth of Virginia penal system? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_For_Algernon

2. If so, can they introduce the program to the public school system?

17 points of IQ gained in a handful of years is nothing to sneeze at. When Atkins gets out of jail in 2180, he should be able to head up some kind of D.C. think tank. Or at least attend grad school with the woman from Vegas. (see previous item, below)

I certainly don’t have the scientific credentials to weigh in confidently on the whole “IQ – Bogus or not Bogus?” pissing match, but stories like this don’t exactly do a lot for its credibility. They do, however ease the pain of that 68 I scored on my seventh grade IQ exam.

Thank God I took Berlitz

"Umm...well, I couldn't really understand what the announcement said because I'm American and I don't, you know, speak English, but I did pick out the word 'Emergency.'

-Las Vegas graduate student studying in London, in response to a reporter asking her what she thought when she had to evacuate the Underground after Thursday's bomb scare.

The little gem was brought to my attention - inadvertently - by a former confederate from long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away. Her work can be found here: http://clarified.blogspot.com/ Anyway,
the orignal poster of this quote was moved to ask: "Is it too late to administer IQ tests for passports?"

Sadly, yes. But it's also worth pointing out that the woman in question is not only a student, but a GRADUATE student, as well. I will assume she is not concentrating in Comparative Literature. In any event, perhaps the proper question is not whether IQ tests should accompany the issuance of a passport, but whether they should accompany admission to Master's/ PhD. programs. A small bit of consolation, from a strictly jingoistic standpoint, can be found in the fact that the woman is now studying abroad. That is, unless you consider the public relations angle.