They say he’s too dumb to die for his heinous crimes.
A federal judge has scheduled a series of special hearings later this month to hear testimony about whether a man convicted of the execution-style murder of two undercover NYPD officers is mentally competent to face the death penalty — again.
Ronell Wilson has already been convicted of the point-blank shooting death of detectives Rodney Andrews and James Nemorin during a 2003 undercover gun buy-and-bust operation on Staten Island.
And Wilson was condemned to death after his conviction, but in 2010 a federal appeals court overturned that sentence because of a procedural misstep.
But Wilson’s defense attorneys insist that he should not be eligible for the death penalty again because they say he has a low-functioning intellect.
They’re hoping that the convicted cop-killer may be spared under the terms of a landmark US Supreme Court ruling that bars execution of the mentally incompetent.
Brooklyn federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis will preside over the special hearings and listen as medical experts, specialists in mental retardation, and others weigh in on the issue.
The hearings – expected to span two weeks – are scheduled to begin later this month and stretch into December.
Brooklyn federal prosecutors do not believe that Wilson is mentally impaired and are expected to call witnesses that buttress their position.
If the court deems Wilson to be mentally fit, the judge will then schedule a new penalty-phase trial, where jurors will determine whether Willson should be executed by lethal injection or sentenced to life in prison.
mmaddux@nypost.com