The Supreme Court will soon determine how mentally disabled a person must be to be considered ineligible for capital punishment:
A 2002 Supreme Court ruling already bars the execution of people with an intellectual disability. But [convicted murderer Freddie Lee] Hall’s lawyers are expected to argue that many US states assess mental ability using outdated measures that take little or no account of current scientific research on the subject. Florida, in particular, is one of 10 states in which anyone with an IQ score of above a certain number, usually 70, is automatically considered to be intellectually competent and is therefore eligible for the death penalty. Psychologists contend that IQ tests are not precise enough to draw such a ‘bright line.’ Hall’s IQ scores range from 60 to 80, and many states would not consider him for the death penalty. …
There is a great deal resting on how the Supreme Court decides this case.
According to one estimate, as many as 20 percent of the more than 3,100 people on death row in the United States may have some level of intellectual disability. So a decision in Hall’s favor could lead to hundreds of appeals, says Nancy Haydt, an attorney in Santa Barbara, California, who is compiling a database of pleas relating to intellectual disabilities in death-penalty cases.
But many mental-health specialists hope that the court will rule more broadly. In briefs filed in the case in December, professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association (APA) and the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), advocated for the court to set a new legal standard that reflects current research on intelligence. IQ tests were never designed to assess the criminal mind, psychologists argue. They say that the modern definition of intelligence – which includes the ability to learn and solve problems, relate to other people and function in society – is much more relevant.
The Dish 