Foreword
In the 2002 Atkins v. Virginia case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that intellectually disabled criminals could not be given capital punishment. Twelve years later, in Hill v. Florida, the Court further clarified that States cannot determine death penalty eligibility based solely on an IQ number. Beyond that, however, the Court has provided little guidance for how States should determine who has the mental capacity to qualify for execution, as long as they take into account the views of the medical community. The State of Texas, for instance, relies on information provided by the Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities…
