Supreme Court dismisses Alabama death penalty case over intellectual-disability standards
The Facts
- The Supreme Court dismissed Alabama’s appeal in Joseph Clifton Smith’s case rather than issuing a ruling on the merits.
- The dismissal leaves in place lower-court rulings that found Smith intellectually disabled and barred his execution.
- Smith was convicted and sentenced to death in Alabama for a 1997 murder.
- The case centered on how courts should assess multiple IQ test results near the threshold commonly used as a marker for intellectual disability.
- The Supreme Court’s 2002 precedent bars the execution of people with intellectual disabilities, and later rulings in 2014 and 2017 said states should consider additional evidence in borderline cases because IQ tests have a margin of error.
- By dismissing the case, the justices did not provide new guidance on how lower courts should handle multiple IQ scores in future death penalty cases.
- The decision was divided, with four justices dissenting.
How left and right are reading this
- Both agree
- The Court left intact a ruling that Smith cannot be executed under the existing bar on executing people with intellectual disabilities, while declining to clarify how borderline IQ evidence should be handled in future cases.
- They split on
- Less a disagreement than a question of emphasis: preserving the protection for a defendant found intellectually disabled, versus stressing the Court’s refusal to settle an unresolved procedural dispute over multiple IQ scores.
Analytical frames for this storyTap to explore
Context
Why was this case before the Supreme Court?
The case asked the justices to decide how courts should evaluate several IQ test scores when a death row inmate claims an intellectual disability that would make execution unconstitutional Nourish,news.bloomberglaw.c…,Hill.
What does the ruling mean for Joseph Clifton Smith?
Because the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, the lower-court rulings remain in effect, and those rulings found Smith intellectually disabled and ineligible for execution news.bloomberglaw.c…,U.S. News & World R…,CNN.
What remains unresolved after the court’s action?
The court left unanswered how judges nationwide should weigh multiple IQ scores that fall near the intellectual-disability cutoff, so lower courts will continue applying existing precedents without a new Supreme Court rule on that specific issue news.bloomberglaw.c…,Newsweek,Washington Times.
View all 44 sources
Wire services (6)
Independent coverage (38)
1819 NewsSCOTUS declines to rule in Alabama death penalty case involv...
Gulf Daily News OnlineExecution is spared in IQ dispute case
Disability ScoopSupreme Court Punts On Deciding How Intellectual Disability ...
https://www.localnewslive.comSupreme Court dismisses Alabama death penalty case
Maryland Daily RecordSupreme Court blocks execution of intellectually disabled in...
NewserSupreme Court Spares Life of Low-IQ Inmate
ABC NewsSupreme Court narrowly spares 'intellectually disabled' murd...
MS NOWKavanaugh and Barrett join Democratic appointees in surprise...
Missouri Lawyers MediaSupreme Court dismisses death penalty case on people with me...
The GuardianUS supreme court dismisses Alabama's bid to execute intellec...
NourishSupreme Court leaves Smith case on death row intact
EWTN NewsSupreme Court says Alabama cannot execute condemned murderer...
Washington ExaminerHigh court decision on death row IQ case will spare prisoner...
UPISupreme Court dismisses Alabama death penalty IQ case - UPI....
DNyuzJustices Decline to Rule in Death Penalty Case Over Intellec...
The New York TimesJustices Decline to Rule in Death Penalty Case Over Intellec...
Yahoo News UKSupreme Court blocks state from executing inmate with border...
Court House News ServiceSupreme Court dodges death penalty IQ question, leaving just...
Mother JonesSupreme Court Leaves Rulings on Executing the Intellectually...
The IndependentSupreme Court blocks execution of inmate with intellectual d...
YahooSupreme Court blocks state from executing inmate with border...
Washington TimesSupreme Court ducks IQ level question for death row inmate
DNyuzSupreme Court dismisses death penalty case on people with me...
NewsweekSamuel Alito warns Supreme Court "exacerbates the confusion"
USA TodaySupreme Court spares life of convicted murderer with low IQ
ABC NewsSupreme Court dismisses bid to execute inmate with borderlin...
GV WireSupreme Court Dismisses Dispute Over Death Row Inmate's Inte...
news.bloomberglaw.comJustices Dismiss Death Penalty IQ Test Case Without Decision
Times UnionSupreme Court dismisses Alabama's bid to execute inmate with...
The HillSupreme Court declines to weigh IQ standards in Alabama deat...
CNN InternationalDivided Supreme Court decision bars Alabama from executing a...
CNNDivided Supreme Court decision bars Alabama from executing a...
Local3News.comDivided Supreme Court decision bars Alabama from executing a...
YahooSupreme Court spares life of convicted murderer with low IQ
YahooSupreme Court dismisses case, sparing life of convicted murd...
Owensboro Messenger-InquirerU.S. Supreme Court dismisses disability death penalty case
Mountain DemocratU.S. Supreme Court dismisses disability death penalty case
WBUR 90.9 mHzSupreme Court dismisses Alabama effort to execute convict
About these frames
The Guardian: Sanctity, degradation, bodily autonomy, moral boundaries, human dignity, bioethics, environmental purity. Where are the lines that should not be crossed?
The Advocate: Liberty, speech, privacy, autonomy, rights, consent, choice. What freedoms are at stake.
The Architect: Stability, law, enforcement, institutional design, separation of powers, regulatory process, rule of law. How are order and governance maintained?
The First Responder: Who gets hurt or helped. Quality of life, vulnerable groups, public health, human cost and benefit.
See this differently than someone you know would? Two ways to keep it going.
The dial works on any URL — paste an article you read elsewhere this week.