The US could soon make it easier to execute people with intellectual disabilities
Summary
The US Supreme Court will decide the case Hamm v. Smith, which could change how people with intellectual disabilities are treated in death penalty cases. Alabama wants the court to allow executions if any IQ test score is above 70, even if other evidence shows intellectual disability.Key Facts
- Joseph Smith, the defendant in Hamm v. Smith, has IQ scores between 72 and 78, suggesting intellectual disability.
- A federal court ruled Smith is intellectually disabled and therefore cannot be executed under the 2002 Atkins Supreme Court decision.
- Alabama argues that if any IQ score is above 70, a person should not be considered intellectually disabled for death penalty cases.
- The Atkins ruling prohibits executing people with intellectual disabilities.
- The Supreme Court previously rejected strict IQ cutoffs or non-clinical methods to determine intellectual disability in death penalty cases.
- If the Supreme Court sides with Alabama, more people with intellectual disabilities could face execution.
- People with intellectual disabilities are more common on death row and often face challenges like false confessions or poor legal help.
- Edward Busby Jr. is scheduled for execution in Texas despite experts agreeing he is intellectually disabled.
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