Supreme Court Hesitates Over Executing Man Found Intellectually Disabled

The US Supreme Court is grappling with the definition of intellectual disability in a case that could determine the fate of Alabama death row inmate Joseph Clifton Smith. Smith, 55, has spent nearly half his life on death row after being convicted of murdering a man in 1997. The Supreme Court banned the execution of intellectually disabled individuals in a landmark 2002 ruling. However, the justices have since clarified that states should consider other evidence of disability in borderline cases. The issue now is whether a person with multiple IQ scores slightly above 70, which is widely accepted as the marker of intellectual disability, can be considered intellectually disabled. Smith's IQ scores range from 72 to 78, and his lawyers argue that he received a diagnosis of mental retardation in the seventh grade. Alabama, however, claims that Smith's case should be an easy win for the state since he never scored below 70 on any IQ test. The state is backed by 20 other states and the Trump administration, which are urging the Supreme Court to roll back its earlier decisions. A ruling in favor of Smith could lead to further court battles for other death row inmates. Justice Samuel Alito warned that a decision in Smith's favor would create 'messy court fights' in other cases. The case, Hamm v. Smith, is expected to be decided by early summer. Rights groups focused on disabilities argue that intellectual disability diagnoses based solely on IQ test scores are 'faulty and invalid.' Smith's lawyers are urging the justices to affirm the lower courts' decision, which considered additional evidence beyond IQ scores. The Supreme Court's decision will have significant implications for the fate of Smith and potentially hundreds of other death row inmates across the US.