Riley Dobi Noel - Appeals

Appeals

Noel's supporters felt that Noel had a very strong case for appeal or clemency. The main reasons cited were:

1) He was mentally retarded;

2) Scientific evidence, unavailable at trial, indicates that severe brain damage hinders his ability to control his behavior;

3) The victim’s mother, Mary Hussian, who initially supported the death penalty for Noel at his trial, has since decided to support his bid for clemency.

Supporters claim that Noel’s IQ was measured at 69, which is below the standard benchmark of 70 for determining mental retardation. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court banned the execution of people with mental retardation in Atkins v. Virginia, ruling that the practice constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. However, Court records show that Noel’s most recent tests placed his score at 80. His defense lawyers argued that, despite tests showing an IQ of 80, Noel had a brain disorder and that executing him would have violated a U.S. Supreme Court directive. The lawyers also argued that medical tests not developed by the time of Noel’s 1996 trial might have revealed more about his mental health. It was argued that psychologists and neurologists learned significantly more about Noel’s brain damage since his trial, and have established strong connections between his neuropsychological deficit and his aggressive, impulsive behavior. Medical experts diagnosed him with Attention Deficit Disorder, poor abstract thinking skills, mental confusion, and serious visual-motor problems at an early age. When he was 13 years old, experts determined that he had a developmental age of 7. One psychological examiner observed that he was “extremely slow” in processing basic information. At trial, the jury heard that Noel had likely suffered “minimal” brain damage. Medical evidence showing the possibility that he suffers from severe brain abnormalities, were discussed in his appeals and clemency petition.

However on March 6, 2003, in Noel v State the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, ruled that Noel scientific evidence was not substantially better than the evidence of brain abnormality that he produced at the sentencing phase of his trial, and that even if Mr. Noel currently had substantial evidence that he had a brain abnormality, his claim would necessarily fail whatever the nature of that abnormality.”

Also at trial, Hussian, the victims’ mother, supported the death sentence, and gave a powerful victim impact statement. However, she has had a change of heart, and is now supporting Noel’s clemency petition. She argued that the state should consider this – the same way the jury considered her trial testimony – when deciding on his clemency petition. However, Governor Mike Huckabee signed his death warrant June 1, 2003.