The 37-year-old Mexican national was convicted 6 years ago of murdering former Schreiner College professor Glen H. Lich in 1997 at his South Kerr County ranch.

2 psychologists testified before Judge Steve Ables that they believe Hernandez is mentally retarded, a condition which could give him a reprieve from the capital murder death sentence handed down in the 216th District Court in 2000.

A 2002 Supreme Court decision ruled that the death sentence is cruel and unusual punishment for a mentally retarded person.

Dr. Antonio Puerto, a psychologist and professor at the University of North Carolina- Wilmington, told the court he has evaluated Hernandez during several visits during the past 3 years.

"I feel, having known him as a child, I have a fairly good understanding of who this person is," Puerto said. Part of his information is based on interviews with Hernandez and several of his siblings.

Puerto and Hernandez's sister, both testified Tuesday that Hernandez was beaten, sometimes severely, by his mother.

"He's at the bottom in the United States, and hes at the bottom of the dump in Mexico. How low can you go?" Puerto said.

Supporting his position that Hernandez is mildly retarded, Puerto said in psychological tests he carried out, the defendant achieved only a second-grade to third-grade reading level.

Under cross-examination from District Attorney Bruce Curry, Puerto testified that protracted drug use could influence the results of psychological tests. This echoed earlier testimony from psychologist Gilbert Martinez of San Antonio.

Puerto testified that Hernandez told him he used drugs before he was put in prison in Mexico, at age 20, for his part in a murder. Hernandez escaped from the Mexican prison and came to the United States.

Curry asked the psychologists if Hernandez could be faking his test performances.

"If he faked me out, I need to close the book and go home," Puerto said. "I feel confident if there was some problem there it would have been evident."