ABSTRACT
An Overview of Death Penalty Jurisprudence ......................................................................... 42 Th e Modern Era ....................................................................................................................... 42 Mental Retardation and the Death Penalty ......................................................................... 44
Ethical Dilemmas Facing Psychological Assessors: Ethical Principles and Hot Spots ...... 46 Th e Ethical Context for Death Penalty Assessments ......................................................... 47 Do No Harm ............................................................................................................................ 48 Boundaries of Competence .................................................................................................... 49 Informed Consent ................................................................................................................... 50 Psychometric Considerations ................................................................................................ 52 Cultural Fairness of Psychological Measures ...................................................................... 53 Malingering .............................................................................................................................. 55 Ethical Concerns Posed by Atkins-Type Evaluations ......................................................... 57 Variability of IQ Scores .......................................................................................................... 57 Test-Retest Eff ects ................................................................................................................... 59
Adaptive Functioning ............................................................................................................. 60 Practice Issues and Challenges: Guidance from a Principles-Based Approach .................. 61
Th e Distinction between Forensic and Th erapeutic Assessment ..................................... 61 A Principles-Based Approach to Capital Litigation Evaluations ...................................... 64 Preparation ............................................................................................................................... 68 Data Collection ........................................................................................................................ 73 Data Interpretation ................................................................................................................. 79 Communication ...................................................................................................................... 84 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 86
References ...................................................................................................................................... 87 Legal References ........................................................................................................................... 91
Th e overarching focus of this chapter is on forensic evaluations conducted in the context of capital mitigation and their associated practice challenges. Th e chapter begins with a brief discussion of relevant case law and statutory authority in this area, with special emphasis on legal developments following the Atkins decision. Next, that chapter turns to a discussion of the ethical contours and concerns related to conducting evaluations of this type. Th is discussion highlights ethical concerns in the broader realm of capital mitigation before moving to a more specifi c discussion of Atkins-specifi c issues, where the assessment of mental retardation is the overriding issue. An understanding of the relevant legal and ethical contours related to capital mitigation provides an excellent foundation and backdrop for discussing competent and eff ective forensic assessment practice in this area. Evaluations of this type are unique and present a number of correspondingly unique practice-related issues and challenges that might not be encountered in other types of forensic evaluations. Accordingly, the remainder of the chapter discusses these challenges and provides concrete recommendations from a principles-based framework for how to address them within the contours of existing support from relevant sources of authority within ethics, law, science, and standards of practice.
