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The short explanation of this alert was:

The ACLU is unequivocally opposed to the death penalty, and one of many egregious aspects of the death penalty system in America has been the execution of the mentally retarded, individuals who are incapable of fully understanding the consequences of their actions and who are frequently led into making false confessions.

Last year the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that executing mentally retarded people constitutes cruel and unusal punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. But California has yet to act on this decision, so there is no clear system in place to prevent the execution of the mentally retarded.

Senator Burton's legislation, SB 3, fills this gap, setting up clear, balanced procedures to ensure that the mentally retarded will not be executed in California.

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