The Supreme Court hands a rare victory to a death row inmate

Summary: The Supreme Court recently handed a rare victory to death row inmate Joseph Clifton Smith. In 2002, the Court ruled that it is unconstitutional to execute someone who is intellectually disabled. Alabama wanted to execute Smith because his IQ tested slightly above 70. However, because IQ tests have a medical margin of error, lower courts ruled he still qualified as intellectually disabled and could not be executed. The Supreme Court decided to dismiss the case, leaving the lower court's ruling in place and saving Smith's life. Surprisingly, most of the conservative justices did not use this case to overturn the ban on executing intellectually disabled inmates, showing a deep divide on the death penalty.

Source: rssapp-vox-com URL: vox.com/politics/489393/supreme-court-hamm-smith-death-penalty (opens in new tab)