UPDATE: (1/27). Ladd was denied a stay by the TX Ct. of Crim. Appeals. Robert Ladd is scheduled to be executed in Texas on January 29, despite having an IQ of 67, an indication of intellectial disability rendering him ineligible for execution. Howver, Texas courts rejected Ladd’s previous appeal because the state has a unique way of evaluating intellectual disability. Courts in Texas often consider what is called the “Briseño factors,” a set of criteria created by a judge that differs from the usual psychological determination of intellectual disabilty. In particular, Texas may allow an execution if the defendant exhibited forethought or advance planning in commiting the crime. Generally, intellecutal disability is determined independent of the facts surrounding the crime. Texas is the only state that considers such factors, despite the lack of scientific basis, in determining whether a defendant should be spared. Ladd’s attorneys are challenging the use of these factors, saying they violate the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Hall v. Florida, which held that Florida’s unusual standards for establishing intellectual disability were outside the country’s standards of decency.
(R. Roy, “ACLU attorney files paperwork to halt execution of ETX man convicted of murder,” KETX, January 22, 2015). See Intellectual Disability.
