NORTH CAROLINA: 6th N.C. man freed from death row because of retardation

Another North Carolina man sentenced to death will have his sentence commuted to life in prison under a state law that bans the execution of the mentally retarded.

Anthony Maurice Bone, 43, will become the sixth North Carolina death row inmate to escape execution because of the 2001 law.

Superior Court Judge Joe Craig notified lawyers in the case this week that he believes Bone is retarded, said Bone's attorney, Don Cowan. Craig's official order had not been filed with the court late Tuesday.

Bone, of Liberty, was convicted in 1999 of breaking into the home of 2 people to steal money for crack and then killing Ethel McCracken when she woke up during one of the burglaries.

McCracken, 88, was found choked, with a broken neck, two broken ribs and a bruised face, according to trial testimony. Her legs and arms were bound and a piece of curtain was stuffed into her mouth.

"I don't think it's fair," McCracken's daughter, Billie Hooks, said of the reduced sentence. "He took my mother's life and she didn't do anything to him. She was a very giving person and he took her life."

Guilford County Assistant District Attorney Howard Neumann, who prosecuted the case, declined to comment. Bone's family could not be reached for comment.

State law defines as mentally retarded anyone with an IQ lower than 70 who also has significant impairment in at least 2 of 10 life activities, such as communicating and taking care of themselves. The law requires that defendants show signs of retardation before they turn 18.

2 special education teachers testified at a hearing in August that Bone attended classes for mentally retarded students in Greensboro when he was in elementary school. A psychologist and mental retardation expert also testified for the defense that Bone scored a 69 on an IQ test in December 2001. Bone had problems following instructions at work and couldn't keep a steady job, he said.

Neumann pointed out during the hearing that Bone scored 72 on IQ tests when he was 7 and 11 years old and suggested that Bone's admitted drug use starting in his teens, not mental retardation, could have caused his IQ scores to drop as he got older.