Supreme Court Dismisses Case on Death Penalty, IQ Without Ruling

The case focused on a convicted murderer’s attempt to argue his intellectual functioning was too low for him to receive the death penalty.

The Supreme Court in Washington on April 28, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

The Supreme Court has declined to issue a ruling on the role of IQ scores in overturning death sentences, saying that it was wrong to take up the case in the first place.

In a per curiam, or unsigned opinion on May 21, the Supreme Court said it “improvidently granted” an order to consider the dispute.