Well, to be fair, this is people with retardation specifically. I'm sure that Scalia thinks that people with mental illness are violent, raving schizophrenics. He's got a one-dimensional view of all different kinds of populations!
There was actually a SEPARATE Supreme Court decision against executing people who are seriously mentally ill. I forget the case caption but it involved the state of Florida (that's also an interesting decision to read as the justice writing the majority opinion was totally horrified that anyone wanted to execute an insane person at all). I'm sure Scalia dissented in that one as well ;).
no subject
There was actually a SEPARATE Supreme Court decision against executing people who are seriously mentally ill. I forget the case caption but it involved the state of Florida (that's also an interesting decision to read as the justice writing the majority opinion was totally horrified that anyone wanted to execute an insane person at all). I'm sure Scalia dissented in that one as well ;).