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Hall v. Florida: defining intellectual disability in the shadow of the death penalty.

Authors :
Appelbaum PS
Source :
Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.) [Psychiatr Serv] 2014 Oct; Vol. 65 (10), pp. 1186-8.
Publication Year :
2014

Abstract

When the U.S. Supreme Court held that persons with mental retardation (now called intellectual disability) could not be sentenced to death, it left the question of how to define the condition to the states. That issue was raised in Hall v. Florida, which challenged one state's "bright-line rule" barring consideration of defendants with IQs over 70. In an endorsement of the professional consensus, the justices ruled that a more flexible approach that takes into account both intellectual and adaptive functioning is required. The Court's posture may bode well for its acceptance of mental health expertise in future cases.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1557-9700
Volume :
65
Issue :
10
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
25270493
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.651004