US court in IQ death penalty ruling

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-27593516

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The US Supreme Court has ruled states must not rigidly apply intelligence tests to inmates on death row.

In a 5-4 ruling, the justices said because IQ tests have a margin of error, borderline cases must allow other evidence of a mental disability.

A previous Supreme Court ruling barred states from executing prisoners who have a mental disability.

In the case brought before the high court, Florida had decided to use an IQ of 70 as their threshold.

But lawyers for a prisoner with a score of 71 had appealed the state's decision.

IQ scores below 70 are widely considered to be a marker of mental disability, but medical professionals say people who score as high as 75 can be considered disabled because of the test's margin of error.

"The death penalty is the gravest sentence our society may impose," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the ruling.

"Persons facing that most severe sanction must have a fair opportunity to show that the Constitution prohibits their execution."