Atkins argued that mentally retarded could not reason well enough to aid in their own defenses. In most cases, they could not understand abstract concepts such as Miranda rights, self-incrimination and death. As many newspapers agreed, it had now become possible to be "too dumb to die".

In its decision, Supreme Court referred to "evolving standards of decency" regarding mental condition. Gallup Poll findings from May 23, 2002 indicated that 82% of Americans opposed use of death penalty for mentally retarded, while 13% supported it. Estimates vary but most sources agree that at least 34 people with mental retardation have been executed in United States since repeal of a ban on capital punishment in 1977. Most of these people had an IQ of around 66.

One of things that may have shaped public opinion is January 24, 1992 execution of Ricky Ray Rector in State of Arkansas, with blessing of Bill Clinton. Laura Mansnerus writes in a July 21, 2001 New York Times article, Damaged Brains and Death Penalty, "You don't have to be a psychiatrist, Dr. Dorothy Otnow Lewis says, to know that something was terribly wrong with Ricky Ray Rector, who before his execution in Arkansas ordered his last meal and asked that pecan pie be set aside so he could have it later." Rector was not mentally retarded but had shot himself in head at time he committed his capital crime. He had a lobotomy.

Furthermore, Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens writes, "Evolving standards of decency mean many different things to different people. But an important part of our standards of decency derive from our scientific understanding of behavior. I believe time will come when we recognize that it is equally indecent to execute mentally ill."

Most people did not expect results of Atkins, even those who were most ardently advocating for it. It seems that times have indeed changed. And if time comes when mental illness as well as mental retardation becomes grounds to avoid death penalty, transformation will indeed have occurred.

As astrologers we understand that mutable modality deals with sensitive connection between mind and body or psycho-soma. Early attempts to understand this connection resulted in label "psychosomatic" for certain conditions for which there appeared to be no physical basis, such as hysteria, certain types of paralysis, colitis and heart palpitations.

The mutable signs are Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. As Pluto travels through sign of Sagittarius, and recently opposed by Saturn in Gemini, .these planets also squared Virgo and Pisces.

Michael Lutin has called Gemini and Sagittarius "the mental health axis". A condition such as schizophrenia can in simplistic terms be result of a child wishing to reconcile beliefs and demands of two parents from insurmountably different backgrounds.

For example, one parent says if you're not a Catholic your soul will be doomed to eternal damnation and further believes that divorce is a mortal sin. The other parent initiates divorce proceedings, begins going to Unitarian Church and tells you that if you continue going to Catholic Church s/he will quit seeing you on weekends because it's "too stupid". A child trying to reconcile this set of instructions could blow a few circuits in brain. These conflicts are not solved at mental level, least of all by a child.

I do not mean to oversimplify mental illness. I'm explaining in esoteric and intuitive terms underlying beliefs that cause mental imbalances. In this case underlying belief would be that things like this are reconcilable which they are not. The healthy choice - if this child makes it to adulthood in reasonably good shape -- would be to transcend this inner dialogue into something that says, I love both my parents but I do not love their beliefs. I accept that each is well meaning but I also accept that I do not need to be like them in order to love myself. I will choose a religion that works for me or none at all while continuing to love both parents. And if this means that I lose love of one parent, then at least I love myself and have other." Alas, this transcendence is not easy and many fall by wayside.

Pluto (and Saturn) also square Virgo and Pisces at same time that they are traveling through Gemini and Sagittarius. The Virgo/Pisces axis produces negative mental conditions such as free floating anxiety, phobias, autism, anal compulsive disorders, despair, suicide and "suicide by cop raffic accident/innocent bystander/or/freak accident", etc.

Another disturbing phenomenon is a 273% increase in autism in state of California in and 11-year time span. There is an urgent need to discover "cause" of this condition.

The mental imbalance that produces these conditions is a defense against inherent chaos of life and feelings of helplessness. In turn, basis of this fear is an irrational belief that universe is controllable in first place.

Further disruptions in these energies can occur with presence of over-crowding, air pollution, noise pollution and stress.

The mutable signs are connected with pulse of life, rhythm of breath and threshold sequences such as in/out breathing, day/night, land/sea, dusk/dawn and crossroads. Proper rhythms are of utmost important for good mental health. During transit of Pluto through Sagittarius, we are experiencing many disruptions of these energies on planet. The rise of asthma, now a chronic condition in many children, is a result of over crowding and air pollution. Sometimes over-crowding can be of one's own schedule. There needs to be spaces in life. This is something Orientals are far more aware of than we Occidentals.

The Internet is another manifestation of this phenomenon. The super glut of information, speed of transmittal, galactic rate of evolution and transformation of entire field of communication has resulted in a type of paralysis in all but more intrepid of mutable signs. In this regard, esoterically, Sagittarius is of great help, because it contributes understanding that at some point information must be turned into knowledge and a decision made or it is of no use whatsoever. More is not better. Enough is good.

You may have noticed that Internet is designed way an intuitive thinks. This is a function of Sagittarius and in this way, it is developing intuition in everyone that uses it. The way you can hop from page to page and topic to topic is similar to way Gemini multi-tasks or watches several different tv shows at one time. It will be interesting to see how much Internet has transformed our ways of learning by time Pluto leaves Sagittarius in 2008.