|Roman Colosseum lit to protest an execution| Moorman was born
to a 15-year-old girl who drank heavily and engaged in
prostitution. His father abandoned him and his mother died at
age 17. He then went to live with his maternal grandparents
until he was put up for adoption because of his grandfather’s
alcohol abuse. The clemency board rejected the plea that it
would be "unconscionable" to execute Moorman for killing his
adoptive mother who subjected him to years of sexual abuse. Also
rejected was Moorman's claim that he should not be executed
because of his mental disabilities. Moorman was diagnosed with
mental retardation and attended special education classes while
in school. His first stay at a mental institution occurred when
he was 13. The state argued that that Moormann's mental capacity
at the time of the killing was just above the legal requirement
for mental impairment. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit allowed the execution to go forward despite expressing
serious concerns about the sta