The Supreme Court has dismissed a case that raised whether inmates with intellectual disabilities are eligible for the death penalty. CBS News correspondent Jan Crawford reported the court took the matter off its docket and did not issue a ruling on the broader constitutional question.
The dispute centered on how the Eighth Amendment ban on “cruel and unusual punishment” applies to people with intellectual disabilities. In 2002 the Court in Atkins v. Virginia held that executing people with intellectual disabilities is unconstitutional, but questions have persisted about how to identify disability and resolve disputes under state and federal law.
By dismissing the appeal, the justices left the underlying legal issues unsettled at the national level. A dismissal means the Supreme Court declined to decide the question now before it; the legal battle will continue in lower courts unless the parties seek further review or legislative action.
Legal experts say such a step leaves existing lower-court rulings in place while avoiding a new, nationwide precedent. That can preserve the status quo for the parties in the particular case but does not resolve conflicts among states or circuits about the tests and procedures used to determine intellectual disability in capital cases.
Defenders of death-penalty limits for people with intellectual disabilities have urged clearer protections and consistent standards. Prosecutors and others have argued for rigorous procedures to determine eligibility. With the Supreme Court stepping aside, those debates are likely to remain active in state courts and in future litigation.
Jan Crawford reported on the Supreme Court’s dismissal; the decision does not constitute a substantive ruling on whether executing inmates with intellectual disabilities is permissible under the Constitution.