Supreme Court Rules Texas Must Apply Current Standards In Death Penalty Cases Involving People With I/DD

On March 28, 2017, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-3 that in death penalty cases involving offenders with intellectual or developmental disability (I/DD), standards currently used by the state must be used to determine presence of an I/DD. The ruling was in Moore v. Texas. The Supreme Court said the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) used the wrong standards to conclude that the plaintiff appealing a death sentence did not meet I/DD standards, and could therefore be executed. In its decision, the Supreme Court justices noted that “Texas cannot satisfactorily explain why it applies . . .