{"id":2355,"date":"2026-05-21T18:39:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T18:39:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/21\/us-supreme-court-dismisses-alabamas-bid-to-execute-intellectually-disabled-man\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T18:39:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T18:39:38","slug":"us-supreme-court-dismisses-alabamas-bid-to-execute-intellectually-disabled-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=2355","title":{"rendered":"US supreme court dismisses Alabama\u2019s bid to execute intellectually disabled man"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"9ec21c72-6e40-4d57-bdc6-c7dfffae3e4f\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a lethal injection chamber\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/707bf8f595256aa236ee8fff20cd686825f20c91\/476_265_1047_838\/master\/1047.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372.1776504297994\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Alabama&#8217;s lethal injection chamber in Atmore.<\/span> Photograph: Dave Martin\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"9ec21c72-6e40-4d57-bdc6-c7dfffae3e4f\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Alabama&#8217;s lethal injection chamber in Atmore.<\/span> Photograph: Dave Martin\/AP<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\"> US supreme court dismisses Alabama\u2019s bid to execute intellectually disabled man<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Court throws out state\u2019s challenge to judicial finding that inmate convicted of murder is ineligible for death penalty<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/us-supreme-court\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">US supreme court<\/a> on Thursday threw out a challenge by the state of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/alabama\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Alabama<\/a> to a judicial finding that a death row inmate convicted of a 1997 murder is intellectually disabled and thus ineligible under the US constitution for the death penalty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">In this highly unusual move, and in a single-sentence, unsigned <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/24-872_ec8f.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">order<\/a>, the court dismissed Alabama\u2019s petition for review in Hamm v Smith without deciding it, effectively undoing its earlier decision to take up an appeal by state officials to the method used by a lower court to determine that Joseph Clifton Smith was intellectually disabled and therefore could not be executed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">At issue was how to assess multiple IQ scores that fall above and below the cutoff for execution, and how far courts should go in assessing additional evidence of intellectual capacity beyond IQ. Had the court sided with Alabama, it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2026\/may\/09\/supreme-court-death-penalty-execution-disabilities\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">could have greenlit a path<\/a> to a significant increase in the number of people with intellectual disabilities \u2013 a group <a href=\"https:\/\/deathpenaltyinfo.org\/what-to-know-intellectual-disability-the-death-penalty\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">overrepresented on death row<\/a> \u2013 who are executed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">After the court heard arguments in December, the majority ruled on Thursday on procedural grounds that it should not have accepted the case of Smith, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/alabama\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Alabama<\/a> man who was convicted of capital murder, and would not weigh in, thus leaving in place the lower court ruling blocking his execution.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson concurred in the decision to dismiss the case, while conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. Chief Justice John Roberts and fellow conservative justice Neil Gorsuch joined Alito\u2019s dissent in part.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"ab43e59c-8421-4240-9050-0e60ce85a288\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-5 | 5\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-1bg5532\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/19\/ketanji-brown-jackson-supreme-court-criticism\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">Ketanji Brown Jackson warns US supreme court it risks losing public trust<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Sotomayor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/24-872_ec8f.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">wrote in a concurring opinion<\/a> that the lower court\u2019s determination \u201cthat Smith has significantly subaverage intellectual functioning and is intellectually disabled\u201d was \u201ccorrect, or at least, very plausible\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThe court is not equipped to provide any meaningful guidance on how courts should assess multiple IQ scores,\u201d Sotomayor went on. \u201cThat is because the differences between methods used to assess multiple IQ scores raise complicated questions on which even experts may disagree.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIf a conflict among the states or lower courts emerges and a case properly presents the issue, it may be appropriate for this court to weigh in with more specific guidance about the permissible method or methods by which courts must analyze such scores,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Because of a major <a href=\"https:\/\/deathpenaltyinfo.org\/policy-issues\/biases-and-vulnerabilities\/intellectual-disability\/reversals-under-atkins\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">2002 supreme court precedent<\/a> that executing an intellectually disabled person violates the constitution\u2019s eighth amendment ban on \u201ccruel and unusual punishment\u201d, Alabama could not execute Smith. But that landmark ruling left it to the states to set standards for eligibility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Supreme court rulings in 2014 and 2017 allowed courts to consider IQ score ranges that are close to 70 along with other evidence of intellectual disability, such as testimony of \u201cadaptive deficits\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Smith\u2019s five IQ scores, which measure learning, reasoning and problem-solving, range from 78 to 72 \u2013 all around the bottom fifth percentile of the population. In Alabama, someone is ineligible for execution if they have an IQ at or below 70and can demonstrate the existence of \u201csignificant deficits\u201d in everyday skills that occurred before the age of 18. Many other states have similar standards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A federal judge in the 11th circuit noted that Smith\u2019s lowest score could in fact be as low as 69, given the standard error of measurement, and allowed him to present additional evidence of his mental capacity. The judge found that Smith had significant deficits in his adaptive behaviors, and manifestation of these problems from an early age \u2013 in Smith\u2019s social and interpersonal skills, independent living and schooling.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Smith\u2019s school records showed that he was classified as \u201ceducable mentally retarded\u201d in seventh grade \u2013 an outdated term to refer to someone who had a mild intellectual disability. The court also considered other factors including \u201chis failure to maintain a bank account and difficulties purchasing groceries\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The court found that \u201c[a] person with an IQ score above 70 may have such severe adaptive behavior problems &#8230; that the person\u2019s actual functioning is comparable to that of individuals with a lower IQ score\u201d \u2013 and thus Smith could not be sentenced to death. An appeals court upheld that ruling, contending that the decision was made using a holistic approach.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Alabama disagreed with the lower court\u2019s decision on grounds that it placed too much weight on his lowest IQ score, which only placed Smith below the cutoff for execution when considering the margin of error. Alabama twice appealed to the US supreme court, arguing that more weight should have been placed on the cumulative IQ scores that placed him above the cutoff. The state was backed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/trump-administration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Trump administration<\/a>, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/apr\/24\/doj-death-penalty-firing-squad-lethal-injection\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">lifted a moratorium<\/a> on the federal death penalty, in the case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\"><em>Reuters contributed reporting<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-supreme-court\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US supreme court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/capital-punishment\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Capital punishment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/alabama\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Alabama<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-prisons\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US prisons<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=%20US%20supreme%20court%20dismisses%20Alabama%E2%80%99s%20bid%20to%20execute%20intellectually%20disabled%20man&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/21\/supreme-court-hamm-v-smith-death-penalty-intellectual-disability?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F21%2Fsupreme-court-hamm-v-smith-death-penalty-intellectual-disability&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/21\/supreme-court-hamm-v-smith-death-penalty-intellectual-disability\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alabama&#8217;s lethal injection chamber in Atmore. Photograph: Dave Martin\/AP View image in fullscreen Alabama&#8217;s lethal injection chamber in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2357,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2355","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2357"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}