Jury to decide accused killer's mental capacity

Raleigh, N.C. — A judge denied a motion Friday for a pre-trial hearing to determine whether a man charged in the kidnapping and death of a Wendell woman is mentally retarded and therefore ineligible for the death penalty.

Antonio Chance, 30, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Cynthia Moreland. Police said she was abducted from a parking garage beneath Progress Energy's headquarters in downtown Raleigh on Aug. 22, 2006, and authorities found her body behind an abandoned barn in Harnett County 11 days later.

State law prohibits executing mentally retarded people, those with an IQ below 70 and who had issues of adaptive functioning prior to age 18, if they are convicted of first-degree murder.

A defense attorney asked for a ruling on Chance's mental capacity, but Superior Court Judge James Spencer said a jury would have to decide the matter.

According to a clinical psychologist who examined Chance, he scored a full-scale IQ of 67 in September 2006, after his arrest, and a 66 on a test in November 2007.

The trial in the case has been scheduled for September.

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I imagine if I was slapped with a murder charge, I could be rather "unsmart" myself, if I felt it would get me a plea-deal. My Chihuahua knows the difference between right and wrong-as if she messes in the house, I can tell it right away via her actions/behavior. You mean a human being wouldn't know the difference..HOGWASH!

doubletrouble
July 25, 2008 9:00 p.m.

"he scored a full-scale IQ of 67 in September 2006, after his arrest," He would have been retarded if he scored above a 70.

Iquana
July 25, 2008 3:47 p.m.

nathanius, did I miss something? I didn't know he had been found guilty. I didn't even know the case had gone to trial.

No, but I assure you more likely than not these are the facts that will come out at trial. Evidently if his lawyer is already playing the mental retardation card, the police have the goods on him.

nathanius
July 25, 2008 3:41 p.m.

You don't have to have a license to drive a car.

iron fist
July 25, 2008 3:36 p.m.

He may have been "slow" in school but he's smart enough to botch a psychological exam and smart enough to carry out a kidnapping, robbery, murder, and concealment of his victim's body. That's not retarded, that's EVIL.