Neuropsychology expert Stephen Maccioccihi, director of the Shepherd Center
in Atlanta, attempted to save a convicted hit man from a death sentence in a Fulton County, GA, jury trial Wednesday. The expert testified that Cleveland
Clark is “mildly mentally retarded” and functions at the level of a 12-year-old. Maccioccihi testified Clark scored low when he was tested in jail for mental competency. As a result, Clark has not been able to hold a job, is impulsive
and has difficulty with everyday activities. The defense hopes the expert's testimony will persuade jurors to vote for life in
prison, rather than death, for the April 26, 2000, contract murder of
22-year-old Sparkle Rai.
That same jury convicted Clark on Friday a year to the day that
another jury convicted Chiman Rai, 68, of paying $10,000 to have his
daughter-in-law killed. Chiman Rai, a native of India, objected to his
son marrying Sparkle Rai because she was African American. Sparkle and Rajeeve “Ricky” Rai had been married a month when Clark strangled and stabbed her.
Excerpted from ajc.com.
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