Judge: Baxter is mentally disabled

LUCEDALE, Miss. (AP) - Judge Richard McKenzie has ruled that Christopher Lee Baxter suffers from an intellectual disability, also referred to as mental retardation, and will not face the death penalty in the upcoming capital murder trial for the death of George County Sheriff Garry Welford.

McKenzie issued his ruling Monday in Lucedale.

The Mississippi Press reports Baxter was evaluated by two doctors in March and April and they determined his IQ was 56 and 75 in their respective tests. An IQ of 75 is recognized as the limit for mental retardation, making Baxter ineligible for the death penalty under Mississippi law.

Baxter and Brandy Nicole Williams are charged with capital murder in the July 10, 2010, killing of Welford.

Baxter's trial is scheduled to start May 7 in Natchez.