WASHINGTON — The nation’s highest court has rejected Alabama’s effort to proceed with the execution of a death row prisoner determined by lower courts to have intellectual disabilities, in a split decision announced Thursday.
The court’s dismissal upholds earlier rulings protecting Joseph Clifton Smith, age 55, who has spent approximately 27 years awaiting execution following his 1997 conviction for fatally beating a man.
In 2002, the nation’s top court banned the execution of individuals with intellectual disabilities through a groundbreaking decision. Additional rulings in 2014 and 2017 required states to examine supplementary evidence of disability in cases where IQ scores fall near the threshold, acknowledging potential inaccuracies in testing.
Smith’s situation centered on how courts should evaluate cases where multiple IQ assessments yield results just above the commonly recognized disability threshold of 70. His five intelligence tests showed results between 72 and 78. According to his legal team, Smith attended special education classes and left school following seventh grade. When the murder occurred, his academic abilities were severely limited: mathematics at a kindergarten level, spelling equivalent to third grade, and reading skills matching fourth grade.
The court had agreed to review the matter to establish guidelines for evaluating such borderline intellectual disability situations. Oral arguments occurred in December.
Instead of issuing a ruling, however, the justices chose the uncommon step of dismissing the appeal entirely, allowing the most recent lower court decision to remain effective.
Five justices supported the dismissal: the court’s three liberal members plus two conservative colleagues.
The remaining four conservative justices objected, criticizing the federal appeals court in Atlanta for incorrect case analysis and arguing their fellow justices should have directed the appeals court to review Smith’s situation again.
The case reference is Hamm v. Smith, 24-872.
