Supreme Court to Clarify Death Row Disability Standards

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Alabama death row inmate Joseph Smith, centering on how courts should evaluate multiple IQ test scores when determining intellectual disability in capital punishment cases. Smith, convicted of a 1997 murder, received IQ scores ranging from 72 to 78, but lower courts found these could indicate a score below 70 due to testing margins of error, sparing him from execution under the Supreme Court's 2002 Atkins v. Virginia decision prohibiting executions of intellectually disabled individuals. Alabama contends that five IQ scores above 70 should prevent Smith from being classified as intellectually disabled, while Smith's legal team argues that no rigid mathematical formula should dictate the outcome. The Justice Department has observed confusion among lower courts about assessing multiple IQ scores in the context of Eighth Amendment protections. The Supreme Court will decide whether courts may consider the cumulative effect of multiple scores in such cases. The ruling could set new standards for evaluating intellectual disability claims in death penalty proceedings nationwide.