Hall v. Florida: The Supreme Court rules against Florida’s rigid IQ standard.

The Supreme Court ruled 12 years ago that it is unconstitutional for a state to execute a person who is “mentally retarded” (a term that has since gone out of date). But that wasn’t enough to put an end to the practice. States were left to determine for themselves who is too intellectually disabled to put to death, and the Florida courts, for example, have insisted on using a flat IQ score that scientists said made no sense. Today the Supreme Court told these states to stop using their unscientific standard, making it a bit harder for them to execute people with marginal IQs.



Hall v. Florida: The Supreme Court rules against Florida’s rigid IQ standard.