The Supreme Court sounds surprisingly open to a case against a death sentence

Slate

The Supreme Court Takes Aim at Intellectually Disabled Death Row Inmates

Independent

Supreme Court hears Alabama death penalty case for man with intellectual disability

Audacy

Supreme Court struggles over whether Alabama can execute man found to be intellectually disabled

Center for American Progress

The Supreme Court To Decide On How Iq Tests Can Affect The Death Penalty

FischerKing64

Substack

Supreme Court Debates If Hammer-Murderer Is Too Stupid to Throw His IQ Tests

The Daily Signal

IQ on Death Row: Supreme Court Weighs Relevance of Convicted Killers Test Scores

Mother Jones

Alabama Wants to Lower the Bar for Executing Disabled People—If SCOTUS Lets It

The Washington Times

Supreme Court Searches Rules Executing Mentally Disabled

The Hill

5642012 Supreme Court Iq Death Penalty

USA Today

Could Supreme Court make it easier to execute the intellectually disabled?

Alabama Public Radio

SCOTUS to hear appeal over planned execution in Alabama

Alabamas argument on executions and IQ scores leaves Supreme Court confused

SCOTUSblog

SCOTUStoday for Thursday, December 11

ABC News

Supreme Court hears Alabama's appeal to execute a man found to be intellectually disabled

The Morning Call

Newsweek

Thomas, Alito Appear To Back Execution of Intellectually Disabled Man

Cyprus Mail

US Supreme Court wrestles with death row inmates intellectual disability ruling

The Mighty 790 KFGO

US Supreme Court to weigh death row inmates intellectual disability ruling

Court appears divided on whether lower courts properly found death row inmate to be intellectually disabled

Metaculus

Death Penalty Legal in US 2035

Donald Trump

Pam Bondi

Cassandra Stubbs

Yasmin Cader

Ruth Friedman

Ron S. Friedman

"The death penalty is on the way out in America."

Trump "will reverse the changes this [Biden's] administration has made [on the death penalty]."

"I signed a death warrant yesterday on a case. So we are seeking the death penalty again."

"If somebody kills somebody in the capital — Washington, D.C. — we're going to be seeking the death penalty."

Will Trump Make the Death Penalty Legal in Washington DC?

Joseph Clifton Smith, 55, has been on Alabama's death row for nearly half his life following his 1997 conviction for the beating death of Durk Van Dam, who prosecutors said was killed with a hammer and robbed of $150, boots and tools during a robbery in Mobile County.

Joseph Clifton Smith, 55, has been on Alabama's death row for nearly half his life following his 1997 conviction for the beating death of Durk Van Dam, who prosecutors said was killed with a hammer and robbed of $150, boots and tools during a robbery in Mobile County.

Smith has taken five IQ tests as an adult, producing scores ranging from 72 to 78, all above Alabama's threshold of 70 for intellectual disability, though lower federal courts determined he met the legal definition of intellectual disability despite never scoring below 70 on any test.

Smith has taken five IQ tests as an adult, producing scores ranging from 72 to 78, all above Alabama's threshold of 70 for intellectual disability, though lower federal courts determined he met the legal definition of intellectual disability despite never scoring below 70 on any test.

Lower courts noted Smith was placed in learning disabled classes, dropped out after seventh grade, performed math at a kindergarten level and read at a fourth grade level at the time of the crime, and was diagnosed with what was then termed mental retardation as a child.

Lower courts noted Smith was placed in learning disabled classes, dropped out after seventh grade, performed math at a kindergarten level and read at a fourth grade level at the time of the crime, and was diagnosed with what was then termed mental retardation as a child.

Alabama Principal Deputy Solicitor General Robert Overing argued there is no way Smith can prove an IQ below 70 and that setting a new precedent could lead to additional death row inmates appealing, while Smith's attorney Seth Waxman urged the Court to support a holistic approach using all available evidence.

Alabama Principal Deputy Solicitor General Robert Overing argued there is no way Smith can prove an IQ below 70 and that setting a new precedent could lead to additional death row inmates appealing, while Smith's attorney Seth Waxman urged the Court to support a holistic approach using all available evidence.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 in Atkins v. Virginia that executing intellectually disabled defendants violates the Eighth Amendment, and in 2014 and 2017 held that states should consider other evidence of disability in borderline cases because of the margin of error in IQ tests.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 in Atkins v. Virginia that executing intellectually disabled defendants violates the Eighth Amendment, and in 2014 and 2017 held that states should consider other evidence of disability in borderline cases because of the margin of error in IQ tests.

The Trump administration and 20 states filed briefs supporting Alabama's position, while mental health organizations including the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association filed briefs supporting Smith, warning that intellectual disability diagnoses based solely on IQ test scores are faulty and invalid.

The Trump administration and 20 states filed briefs supporting Alabama's position, while mental health organizations including the American Psychological Association and American Psychiatric Association filed briefs supporting Smith, warning that intellectual disability diagnoses based solely on IQ test scores are faulty and invalid.

Supreme Court Hears Alabama Death Row IQ Threshold Case

executionSupreme Court Hears Alabama Death Row IQ Threshold Case

The Controversies

Stubbs

Friedman

Bondi

Trump

Go Deeper

Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up for Our Free Newsletters