AAIDD POSITION STATEMENTS

AAIDD/ARC Position Statements

CRIMINAL JUSTICE

POLICY STATEMENT

People with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities, like other residents of the United States, have the right to justice and fair treatment in the criminal justice system, including reasonable accommodations as necessary.

ISSUE

Fear, prejudice, and lack of understanding of our constituents are magnified when an individual becomes involved in the criminal justice system. Most attorneys, judges, law enforcement personnel, forensic evaluators, and citizens on juries lack adequate and appropriate knowledge to apply standards of due process in a manner that provides justice for our constituents.

Victims with these disabilities are frequently devalued and ignored.
Witnesses are subject to routine exclusion because of stereotyped views of their competence to testify or denial of their needs for supports and accommodations.
Defendants are often denied due process and effective representation at every stage of the proceedings.
Incarcerated individuals are abused, exploited, and excluded from habilitative programs.

When these individuals come into contact with the criminal justice system, they can find few organized resources for information, training, technical assistance, and referral. Moreover, people with mental retardation involved with the criminal justice system encounter problems that are caused by their disability, such as:

Failing to have their disability identified by authorities because the individual is attempting to hide mental retardation.
Giving incriminating, but inaccurate "confessions," because the individual wants to please or is confused or misled by inappropriately used investigative techniques.
Being found incompetent to stand trial because the individual cannot understand the criminal justice proceeding.
Being found incompetent and being inappropriately placed in an institution for a long period of time in order to "regain competency."
Being unable to assist their lawyer in their own defense.

POSITION

When our constituents come into contact with the criminal justice system, they must:

Have their rights to access to justice and fair treatment assured.
Receive assistance and accommodations to have their cases fairly heard.
Have access to and the right to present expert evaluations and testimony by professionals with training and expertise in their disability
Be treated fairly by all personnel including judges, defense lawyers, prosecutors, court personnel, forensic evaluators, law enforcement personnel, victim assistance personnel, and criminal justice policymakers.
Have the right to an advocate, in addition to their lawyer, who has expertise in their disability.
Be protected from harm, self-incrimination, and exploitation at all stages of an investigation, including when they are questioned, detained, and incarcerated.

When they act as witnesses, they must:

Have available to them judges, lawyers, prosecutors, court personnel, and others who are educated about the effects of their disability.
Have necessary supports and accommodations available so that their testimony is heard and fairly considered.

When sentenced, they must:

Have available reasonable and appropriate accommodations, treatment, and education, as well as alternatives to sentencing and incarceration that include community-based corrections.
Be exempt from the death penalty because existing case-by-case determinations of competence to stand trial, criminal responsibility, and mitigating factors at sentencing have proved insufficient to protect the rights of individuals with mental retardation. The presence of mental retardation by definition raises so many possibilities of miscommunication, misinformation, and an inadequate defense that the imposition of the death penalty in unacceptable. People with mental retardation must be exempt from the death penalty but not from other appropriate punishment, on a case-by-case basis.

Adopted: The Arc, Congress of Delegates, November 9, 2002
AAIDD Board of Directors, May 28, 2002