WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Wednesday in a case that could affect how courts determine whether convicted murderers with intellectual disabilities are exempt from execution. The case involves Alabama’s attempt to carry out the death penalty on Joseph Clifton Smith, 55, who lower federal courts have found to be intellectually disabled. The high court’s 2002 ruling prohibits the execution of individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Smith has spent roughly half his life on death row following his 1997 conviction for the fatal beating of Durk Van Dam. The central issue in the case is how to evaluate multiple IQ scores that fall slightly above the commonly recognized threshold of 70 for intellectual disability. Smith’s five IQ tests produced scores ranging from 72 to 78. His lawyers note that he was placed in learning-disabled classes, dropped out after seventh grade, and at the time of the crime performed math at a kindergarten level, spelled at a third-grade level, and read at a fourth-grade level.
Previous Supreme Court rulings in 2014 and 2017 instructed states to consider additional evidence in borderline cases due to the margin of error inherent in IQ tests. After lower courts affirmed that Smith is intellectually disabled using a “holistic” review of his case, Alabama appealed to the Supreme Court, which agreed in June to reevaluate the matter.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall argued that Smith has not met the burden of proving an IQ of 70 or below, criticizing the holistic approach as an overreach of previous rulings. The state contends the courts cannot selectively use the lowest test scores to declare disability. The Trump administration and 20 states filed briefs supporting Alabama, emphasizing that Smith failed to show his IQ was likely 70 or below.
Smith’s legal team maintains that the lower courts properly followed the law by assessing all relevant evidence in a borderline case. Disability rights organizations have also supported Smith, warning that IQ tests alone are insufficient and can be unreliable for diagnosing intellectual disability.
Smith was convicted for the 1997 beating death of Van Dam in Mobile County, who was found in his truck with injuries caused by a hammer and missing personal belongings. A federal judge vacated Smith’s death sentence in 2021, describing it as “a close case.” Under Alabama law, intellectual disability is defined as an IQ of 70 or below, significant deficits in adaptive behavior, and onset before the age of 18.