intellectual disability

Supreme Court Issues Key Decisions on Jury Discrimination and Intellectual Disability Claims

By Kavita Boon-LongJune 2, 20260 comments

The U.S. Supreme Court issued two significant decisions in May 2026 concerning jury discrimination and intellectual disability in capital cases. The court allowed Terry Pitchford’s jury discrimination claim to proceed, while dismissing an Alabama case to preserve a lower court’s finding that Joseph Clifton Smith has an intellectual disability and cannot be executed. Concurrently, the Court permitted the execution of Edward Busby in Texas, despite expert findings of his intellectual disability, a decision that prompted a searing dissent from several justices.

SCOTUS Halts Alabama Execution of Intellectually Disabled Joseph Smith

By Ria BaggaMay 22, 20260 comments

The U.S. Supreme Court upheld lower court decisions vacating the death sentence of Joseph Clifton Smith, ruling that Alabama cannot execute him due to findings of intellectual disability. The 5-4 decision, dismissing Alabama’s appeal as ‘improvidently granted,’ effectively ends the state’s efforts to execute Smith and reinforces constitutional protections against capital punishment for intellectually disabled individuals.

Texas Carries Out 600th Execution Despite Intellectual Disability Concerns

By Arisha BhattacharyaMay 18, 20260 comments

On Thursday, Texas executed Edward Lee Busby Jr., marking the state’s 600th execution since capital punishment resumed in 1982. This action proceeded despite expert assertions of Busby’s intellectual disability, a condition typically exempting individuals from the death penalty, and was cited by the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty as indicative of racial and geographic disparities within the state’s capital punishment system.

Texas Nears 600th Execution Amid Intellectual Disability Exemption Dispute

By Remy SwartzMay 12, 20260 comments

The scheduled May 14 execution of Edward Busby in Texas has drawn scrutiny from advocates and legal experts. They contend Busby, a Black man, is intellectually disabled, a condition that would constitutionally exempt him from capital punishment, a claim supported by expert consensus cited by the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (TCADP).