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Post by SoulTrainOz on Jul 19, 2006 7:54:16 GMT -5
The capital murder trial of a Port Arthur man accused in the slayings of 2 elderly women was rescheduled while lawyers on both sides assess a question of mental retardation.
Gary Sinegal's capital murder trial, set to begin July 31 in Criminal District Court, instead will start Nov. 6, a court clerk said Monday.
In November 2005, Sinegal was indicted on charges of capital murder in the beating deaths of 81-year-old Louise Tamplin and 86-year-old Margie Gafford. The Jefferson County District Attorney's Office subsequently decided to ask for the death penalty.
Assistant District Attorney Ed Shettle said the recent discovery of a 1st-grade IQ test score of 63 for Sinegal has clouded the waters.
Although subsequent tests set his IQ above the mental retardation threshold of 70, the matter still must be investigated by experts on both sides before the case can go to trial, Shettle said.
A 2002 U.S. Supreme Court decision barred the execution of mentally retarded criminals on the grounds that it constituted cruel and unusual punishment.
One of Sinegal's defense lawyers, James Makin, was out of town on another case and could not be reached for comment.
(source: The Beaumont Enterprise)
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