Intellectual disability in capital (Atkins) cases: Adjusting state statutes after Moore v Texas
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY IN CAPITAL CASES: ADJUSTING STATE STATUTES AFTER MOORE V. TEXAS.
- Abstract: In Atkins v. Virginia (2002), the
U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the execution of intellectually disabled
inmates violates the cruel and unusual punishment clause of the Eighth
Amendment. Twelve years later in Hall v. Florida (2014), the Court
revisited its Atkins decision to provide fu rther clarification on how
states should assess intellectual disability. This article examines
Moore v. Texas (2017), the latest development in the Court, 's rulings
on capital determinations of intellectual disability. It also reviews
state statutes and court cases from the thirty-one death penalty states
to determine how they comport with the Court's Moore ruling. These
statutes and cases shed light on issues with respect to intellectual
disability in capital trials that the Court has yet to address. The
article concludes with model language to help states make their capital
punishment protocols constitutional, so that the intellectually disabled
remain free from execution.
