The 1971 Brown-Courtless study found that about 10 percent of incarcerated offenders are retarded (an IQ below 70), or an estimated 25 to 30,000 mentally retarded offenders exist in the Nation's prisons. While few definitive studies have been made of the retarded offender, data from the scattered studies show that retarded offenders represent a disproportionate percentage of the incarcerated. This is believed by many to be due to the maladaptive problems of the mentally retarded, their reduced capacity to avoid capture and conviction, and the infrequent use of probation, parole, and community programs with the mentally-retarded offender. Data also show that the mentally retarded are more likely than other offenders to plead guilty without some of the benefits of a negotiated plea, are less likely to appeal convictions, and infrequently request postconviction relief. Few correctional programs test for mental retardation, and those that do, fail to provide habilitation or supportive programs targeted at the mentally-retarded inmate. Such inmates are frequently abused by other inmates, because they do not know how to deal with manipulation and intimidation. While professionals argue the need for special community programs, corrections officials generally acknowledge that corrections programs for the mentally-retarded have low priority in resource allocation. This material came from interviews with criminal justice professionals and experts in the field of mental retardation.