US supreme court dismisses Alabama’s bid to execute intellectually disabled man
Court throws out state’s challenge to judicial finding that inmate convicted of murder is ineligible for death penalty
TL;DR
- The US Supreme Court dismissed Alabama's petition to review a case concerning the execution of an intellectually disabled inmate.
- The inmate, Joseph Clifton Smith, convicted of a 1997 murder, was found intellectually disabled by a lower court, making him ineligible for the death penalty.
- The Supreme Court's decision was made on procedural grounds, and the court did not decide the merits of the case.
- Justices Sotomayor and Jackson concurred with the dismissal, while Justices Thomas and Alito dissented.
- The ruling leaves in place the lower court's determination that Smith cannot be executed due to intellectual disability, which includes consideration of IQ scores and adaptive behavior deficits.