Man spared execution for killing his four babies because his IQ is too low

Publish date: 2024-06-22

A father who killed his three children and stepchild in 2008 by throwing them off a bridge after a fight with their mother has been spared execution because his IQ is so low it would be unconstitutional for him to be killed. 

Lam Luong was given the reprieve on Monday in a courtroom in Alabama where lawyers revealed his IQ is 51. 

The average IQ of an adult is between 90 and 100. 

In 2008, he tossed his three babies and stepchild off the Dauphin Island bridge and into the Mississippi Sound after arguing with their mother. 

He tried to lie about it afterwards and told police they had been kidnapped by two Asian women but he was convicted of murder and was sentenced to death in 2009.  

But because of a 2002 Supreme Court decision which states that it is unconstitutional to execute anyone with intellectual disabilities, he will be spared execution and will now spend the rest of his life behind bars 

Lam Luong (seen in a January court appearance) was spared execution on Monday because his IQ is so low it is unconstitutional for him to be killed. He murdered four children, three of which were his own, in 2008 by throwing them off of a bridge after arguing with their mother

Lam Luong (seen in a January court appearance) was spared execution on Monday because his IQ is so low it is unconstitutional for him to be killed. He murdered four children, three of which were his own, in 2008 by throwing them off of a bridge after arguing with their mother

Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich was pained by the decision on Monday.

Speaking afterwards, she said: 'Our hands are tied.

'No one deserves the death penalty more than the man who on Jan. 7, 2008 — who lived a normal life and no signs of below average IQ — and cold and calculatedly threw his four children off the Dauphin Island bridge.' 

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

Share

Three of the children were his own and the other was his wife Kieu Phan's from a previous relationship. He killed them after having an argument with her. 

The children were all under two when they died and the youngest was four. They plunged 80ft and were alive when they hit the water. 

When he was sentenced in 2009, the judge ordered him to look at a photograph of the children every day until he was executed. 

It is not known if the children's mother was present in court for Monday's decision.  

Three of the children were his own and one of them was his stepchild. He threw them off the bridge after a fight with their mother 

Three of the children were his own and one of them was his stepchild. He threw them off the bridge after a fight with their mother 

The youngest of the children was just four months old. The oldest was two. One of the babies is pictured 

The youngest of the children was just four months old. The oldest was two. One of the babies is pictured 

Long is shown, left, in a recent booking photograph, and right, in 2008. He came to the US as a Vietnamese refugee Long is shown, left, in a recent booking photograph, and right, in 2008. He came to the US as a Vietnamese refugee

Long is shown, left, in a recent booking photograph, and right, in 2008. He came to the US as a Vietnamese refugee 

 

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCmmZmhe6S7ja6iaKaVrMBwrdGtoJyklWKDc4OXcW9yZ3SarrW0jKycp6yVo7CmedWampqslZl6rq3NZquhqpWseqS0yKWbq52eYq%2BztcOgnGegpKK5