Marvin Lee Wilson

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Marvin Lee Wilson (b. 5 January 1958) was on death row in Texas for the murder of a police drug informant. Wilson's IQ has been measured at 61, which makes him legally retarded, and makes his execution unconstitutional according to a Supreme Court ruling against execution of retarded individuals. However, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit originally ruled that due to his lawyer missing a filing deadline, Wilson is unable to file further appeals in federal court.

Then, in an unusual about-face, the same appellate panel reversed its own unanimous decision on March 10, 2006 when two judges in the majority, W. Eugene Davis and Jacques L. Wiener, Jr., said that they were "satisfied that these are the sort of rare and extraordinary circumstances that justify" waiving the filing deadline.

[edit] External links

• Date Missed, Court Rebuffs Low-I.Q. Man Facing Death — NY Times article on Marvin Lee Wilson
• Fifth Circuit decision, March 10, 2006 (PDF), In re Wilson, 442 F.3d 872 (5th Cir. 2006), withdrawing opinion at 433 F.3d 451