In a notable decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has opted to dismiss Alabama’s attempt to proceed with the execution of a man deemed intellectually disabled by lower courts. This decision maintains the rulings favoring Joseph Clifton Smith, a 55-year-old who has spent over two decades on death row following his 1997 murder conviction.
The Supreme Court’s 2002 ruling prohibited the execution of individuals with intellectual disabilities, and subsequent decisions in 2014 and 2017 emphasized the need for states to consider additional evidence in borderline cases due to the potential inaccuracies in IQ tests.
Smith’s case highlights the complexities involved when a person presents multiple IQ scores slightly above the threshold commonly associated with intellectual disability. His IQ test results ranged between 72 and 78. According to his legal representatives, Smith struggled academically, attending special education classes and leaving school after the seventh grade. At the time of his crime, his abilities in math, spelling, and reading were significantly below average.
The Supreme Court initially reviewed the case to address how courts should handle such borderline intellectual disability cases, with arguments heard in December. However, rather than delivering a verdict, the justices dismissed the appeal, a rare move that upholds the last lower-court decision.
The decision saw a majority of three liberal justices, along with Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, supporting the dismissal. In contrast, the four remaining conservative justices dissented, criticizing the Atlanta-based federal appeals court’s handling of the case and suggesting that the case should undergo further examination.
The case is listed as Hamm v. Smith, 24-872.
