The high court ruled in 2002 that executing people with intellectual disabilities violated the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment.” The Supreme Court will clarify how IQ scores should be evaluated when a death sentence is barred based on an intellectual disability. The court already ruled in 2002, in Atkins v. Virginia , that executing people with intellectual disabilities violated the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment,” but justices did not define intellectual disability.
Striving for a World without Capital Punishment