GRADING ON A CURVE

SCOTUS Doubts IQ Test on Death Row

Margin of error under consideration.

The Supreme Court appears set to block the execution of a prisoner on death row because he may be mentally disabled. On Monday, a majority of justices seemed to agree that states like Florida can't rely on IQ tests alone in borderline cases to determine eligiblity for execution. Lawyers for Freddie Lee Hall say there is evidence to show he is mentally disabled despite scoring above 70 on IQ tests. That score is considered the cutoff for disability, but several justices seemed to think a margin of error is needed for IQ tests like Hall's. In 2002, the court ruled states cannot execute people with intellectual disabilities.