Source: ABC News
“In a rare move on Thursday, the Supreme Court spared the life of an ‘intellectually disabled’ death row inmate, dismissing an appeal by Alabama officials who claimed the man’s multiple IQ scores show he is competent and eligible for execution. The justices were narrowly divided, 5-4, in allowing a lower court ruling to stand that determined death for Joseph Clifton Smith, a convicted first-degree murderer, would violate the Eighth Amendment prohibition of ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment. The high court did not formally explain its decision. … Two lower federal courts ruled that a holistic analysis of Smith’s IQ scores and other evidence, including his behavioral history and school records, proved he is intellectually disabled.” (05/21/26)