Marvin Lee Wilson

Marvin Lee Wilson (born 5 January 1958) is a prisoner who has been on death row in Texas since May 9, 1992^[1] for the murder of a police drug informant.^[2] Wilson abducted and shot 21-year-old Jerry Robert Williams following a physical confrontation between the two in the 1500 block of Verone in Beaumont. At the time of the murder, Wilson had two previous convictions for robbery.^[1]

Wilson's IQ has been measured at 61, which could mean that he is legally retarded and thus ineligible for execution according to a United States Supreme Court ruling against execution of retarded individuals.^[3][4] However, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit originally ruled in December 2005 that due to his lawyer missing a filing deadline, Wilson is unable to file further appeals in federal court.^[3][4]

On March 10, 2006, the Fifth Circuit court granted Wilson permission to file an appeal. In its opinion, the court wrote, "We are satisfied that these are the sort of rare and extraordinary circumstances that justify" waiving the filing deadline.^[5]

The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty states that "Wilson’s case illustrates one of the many ways the AEDPA [Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act] has severely limited the ability of death row inmates to have their convictions and sentences reviewed to determine if they are being held contrary to the laws of the Constitution."^[6]

As of 2009, his case was still in appeals.^[7]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Offenders on Death Row and linked page Marvin Lee Wilson, Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Accessed online 2010-01-25.
2. ^ Keller, J., unanimous opinion of the Court. In the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas; No.73,043; MARVIN LEE WILSON, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS ON DIRECT APPEAL FROM JEFFERSON COUNTY, Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, Date delivered: December 8, 1999. Accessed online 2010-01-25.
3. ^ ^{a b} Adam Liptak, Date Missed, Court Rebuffs Low-I.Q. Man Facing Death, New York Times, 2005-12-17. Accessed online 2010-01-25.
4. ^ ^{a b} Clay Robison, 5th Circuit rejects a late appeal by inmate with low IQ; Attorneys for Texas man facing execution had missed deadline by 40 days, Houston Chronicle/chron. com, 2005-12-17. Accessed online 2010-01-25.
5. ^ Fifth Circuit decision, March 10, 2006 (PDF), In re Wilson, 442 F.3d 872 (5th Cir. 2006), withdrawing opinion at 433 F.3d 451. Accessed online 2010-01-25.
6. ^ Do Not Execute Marvin Wilson!, The National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, 2006-04-26. Accessed online 2010-01-25.
7. ^ Marvin Lee Wilson v. Rick Thaler (2009), NAACP. Links to NAACP's October 15, 2009 amicus brief. Accessed online 2010-01-25.

External links

• Statement from Wilson, seeking "penfriend" (penpal), lampofhope.org.

Persondata
Name	Wilson, Marvin
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Date of birth	1958-01-05
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