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Alabama Execution Case Tests Intellectual Disability Claims

Alabama Execution Case Tests Intellectual Disability Claims

Alabama Execution Case Tests Intellectual Disability Claims \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal that could make it harder for intellectually disabled individuals to avoid execution. The case involves Alabama death row inmate Joseph Clifton Smith, whose disability claims spared him from execution in lower courts. The decision may challenge a 2002 ruling that barred the death penalty for intellectually disabled people.

Quick Looks

  • Justices will hear Alabama’s appeal to execute Joseph Clifton Smith
  • Smith’s intellectual disability previously shielded him from execution
  • Case challenges 2002 Atkins v. Virginia ruling on death penalty
  • Court to decide how IQ scores above 70 are handled
  • Could mark first major rollback of protections in 23 years
  • Case revealed early due to Supreme Court tech malfunction
  • Comes after similar accidental early release of abortion ruling
  • Ruling expected in 2026 after fall oral arguments

Deep Look

In a move that could reshape how courts determine intellectual disability in capital cases, the U.S. Supreme Court announced Friday it will hear an appeal that may make it more difficult for death row inmates to avoid execution based on low IQ or other cognitive impairments. The case, Joseph Clifton Smith v. Alabama, centers on a 1997 murder conviction and raises significant questions about the interpretation of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

The announcement, posted prematurely due to a software malfunction on the court’s website, signals that the justices may be ready to narrow or redefine the landmark 2002 ruling in Atkins v. Virginia, which barred states from executing individuals deemed intellectually disabled.

Smith’s lawyers argued successfully in lower federal courts that his IQ scores and cognitive functioning met the criteria for intellectual disability, shielding him from execution. However, the state of Alabama has asked the Supreme Court to revisit how these standards are applied, particularly in so-called “borderline” cases—instances where an inmate’s IQ score exceeds the traditional threshold of 70 but may still indicate impaired intellectual functioning.

In Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the Supreme Court ruled that executing intellectually disabled individuals violates the Constitution’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. But the court left it up to individual states to define how intellectual disability should be determined, leading to significant variability across jurisdictions.

Later decisions, including Hall v. Florida (2014) and Moore v. Texas (2017), clarified that rigid IQ cutoffs were not sufficient and that broader clinical definitions must be used. Those rulings made it somewhat easier for individuals to demonstrate that they are intellectually disabled—even if they scored slightly above 70 on an IQ test—by considering adaptive functioning and medical consensus.

Now, in Smith v. Alabama, the Supreme Court may reverse course, potentially allowing states more leeway to impose the death penalty on defendants with borderline IQ scores.

Who is Joseph Clifton Smith?

Smith was convicted in Alabama for the 1997 murder of a man during a robbery. He has spent more than two decades on death row. While the details of the crime are not in dispute, Smith’s mental capacity has been central to his legal defense. Over the years, various IQ tests have placed him just above the traditional threshold for intellectual disability. Still, his legal team argues that adaptive functioning deficits—difficulty with social, conceptual, and practical skills—qualify him under the criteria set forth in Atkins and its subsequent interpretations.

Federal courts agreed, blocking his execution. But Alabama contends that the lower courts used overly broad standards and that Smith’s relatively high IQ scores should preclude him from being considered intellectually disabled.

Procedural Glitch Reveals Case Early

The announcement of the court’s decision to take up the Smith case came earlier than expected due to what a court spokesperson described as a “software malfunction.” A batch of orders, originally scheduled for release on Monday, was posted Friday morning to the court’s public docket. It’s not the first such mishap; in June 2024, an opinion in an abortion-related case was also published prematurely.

While the early release had no bearing on the legal process, it briefly caused confusion online, where legal observers and journalists scrambled to confirm the document’s authenticity.

What’s at Stake?

If the Supreme Court sides with Alabama, the ruling could narrow the definition of intellectual disability in capital cases nationwide, effectively allowing more executions of individuals with marginal cognitive impairments. Civil rights groups and mental health advocates warn that such a decision would roll back essential protections for vulnerable individuals in the justice system.

“A reversal in this case would undermine two decades of settled law and jeopardize fair treatment for individuals with developmental disabilities,” said Emily Braverman, a legal director at the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. “It opens the door to subjective judgments and politicized executions.”

Alabama, on the other hand, argues that allowing every defendant with a low IQ score to escape the death penalty sets a dangerous precedent that reduces accountability for heinous crimes.

Timeline and Outlook

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case this fall, with a decision likely in spring or summer 2026. While the current court has a 6-3 conservative majority, the outcome remains uncertain given previous rulings like Moore and Hall, which saw some conservative justices side with the liberal bloc.

This will be a closely watched case, not just for its implications on capital punishment, but for how the Eighth Amendment is interpreted in a post-Atkins legal environment.

For now, the execution of Joseph Clifton Smith remains on hold. But the broader future of how intellectual disability is defined in the American criminal justice system may soon rest in the hands of nine justices.

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