LITTLE ROCK — A federal appeals court has ordered a hearing on whether an Arkansas inmate sentenced to die for fatally stabbing a prison guard is mentally retarded and ineligible for the death penalty.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday reversed a federal judge’s decision that dismissed a lawsuit by death-row inmate Alvin Bernal Jackson. Jackson was sentenced to death for the 1995 stabbing of Sgt. Scott Grimes. Jackson was already serving a life sentence for another murder when Grimes was killed.
The appeals court says Jackson deserves a hearing on whether he is mentally retarded. Court records show that Jackson was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and an antisocial personality disorder. According to records, he also had low IQ scores throughout childhood.
A date hasn’t been set for Jackson’s hearing.
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