Georgia Department of Corrections
Robert Wayne Holsey, a Georgia man convicted of armed robbery and the murder of a police officer in 1997, has been denied clemency from the state and a last-minute appeal by the Georgia Supreme Court. Holsey was represented by Andy Prince, an appointed trail lawyer who admitted he was drinking up to a quart of vodka a day at the time of the trial. Holsey’s current attorneys argued that Prince failed to produce proper evidence that could have resulted in a different outcome for Holsey, including an exceptionally harsh childhood and his intellectual deficit. Holsey’s IQ sits around 70, which is considered by most states to be on the borderline of disability. But, since Holsey could drive a car and had a girlfriend, the court ruled against the disability plea. It’s a decision that many legal experts believe violates a Supreme Court ruling last May that banned states from creating “an unacceptable risk that persons with intellectual disability will be executed.” Currently, the standard of proof for intellectual disability varies from state to state.