The death penalty targets people with mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities.

There is considerable evidence that the death penalty unfairly affects people with mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities. According to Mental Health America, it is estimated that 20 percent of death row prisoners suffer from a serious mental illness. ^[1] Before the Supreme Court banned such executions, at least forty-four people with intellectual disabilities were executed in the United States. ^[2] It is unfair to consider people with intellectual disabilities or mental illnesses as culpable for their actions because they often suffer from psychosis or do not realize what they are doing while committing a crime. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has stated that mental illness should be a serious consideration in death penalty proceedings, it is often difficult to prove that a person's mental illness seriously impacts their decision-making abilities.^[3] In some states, an individual is required to have a medically documented history of mental illness if they are to avoid the death penalty. ^[4] As a result, mentally ill prisoners face a high risk of receiving death sentences. For this reason, we should abolish the death penalty.

[P1] The death penalty is unfairly weaponized against people with mental illnesses or intellectual disabilities. [P2] For this reason, we should abolish the death penalty.