亚利桑那上诉法院为死刑案智力残疾评估定时间规则：凤凰城母亲西蒙斯案检方专家须等记录到期20天后才能检查
美国亚利桑那州，州上诉法院上周五（10月23日）作出裁定：在死刑案件中，负责智力残疾评估的专家必须等被告的学校、医疗等记录提交到期至少20天后，才能对被告进行检查。法院驳回了检方希望其专家提前检查的请求。这一时间规则将适用于全州的死刑案件。
这项裁定源于凤凰城母亲索菲娅·西蒙斯（Sophia Simmons）的案件。西蒙斯被控一级谋杀与虐待儿童，检方正寻求判处死刑。警方称，她年幼女儿的遗体于2023年平安夜在第35大道与托马斯路附近的一个垃圾箱里被发现；她还被控试图清理现场、毁灭证据。在初步智商筛查中，西蒙斯得分为53分，按法律需要进一步评估；亚利桑那州法律禁止处决被认定有智力残疾的人，目前法庭尚未对她作出这一认定。
西蒙斯案的审判定于明年4月开始。上述指控尚未经法庭证实。
Arizona Appeals Court Sets Timing Rule for Disability Evaluations in Death Cases: In Phoenix Mother Simmons's Case, Experts Must Wait 20 Days After Records Are Due
In Arizona, the state Court of Appeals ruled last Friday (October 23) that in death-penalty cases, experts conducting intellectual-disability evaluations must wait at least 20 days after the defendant's school, medical, and other records are due before examining the defendant. The court rejected prosecutors' request to have their expert examine the defendant sooner. The timing rule will apply to capital cases across the state.
The ruling arose from the case of Phoenix mother Sophia Simmons. Simmons is charged with first-degree murder and child abuse, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. Police say her young daughter's body was found in a dumpster near 35th Avenue and Thomas Road on Christmas Eve 2023; she is also accused of trying to clean the scene and tamper with evidence. Simmons scored 53 on an initial IQ screening, which under state law requires further evaluation; Arizona law bars the execution of a person found to have an intellectual disability, and no such determination has been made in her case.
Simmons's trial is scheduled to begin next April. The charges have not been proven in court.
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：凤凰城的桑德拉·戴·奥康纳联邦法院大楼（资料图）。图片：Gonzo fan2007，CC BY 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / The Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix (file photo). Photo: Gonzo fan2007, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
