People with learning disabilities are at a higher risk of wrongful convictions and death sentences.  They may be more likely to falsely confess to a crime because they want to please the authorities that are investigating the crime. They are less able than others to work with their lawyers to help to prepare their defense. Because of the stigma attached to being learning disabled, people with disabilities often become adept at hiding it, even from their lawyer, not understanding the importance of this information to the outcome of the case.  

State legislatures across the country are working to bring their laws to apply to those with learning disabilities, and police are getting trained to recognize the signs, crafting definitions and developing processes to determine whether a suspect is mental challenged.