Supreme Court to Examine Role of IQ Tests in Alabama Death Penalty Case

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to review Alabama’s request to reinstate a death sentence that was previously overturned because of the defendant’s intellectual disability. The central issue before the justices is whether multiple IQ tests should be factored into determining if a capital punishment exemption applies under intellectual disability claims. This scrutiny arises in light of the Supreme Court’s 2002 ruling in Atkins v. Virginia, which interpreted the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishments as including the execution of intellectually disabled individuals.