Without argument, the high court issued an unsigned 7-2 ruling
reversing the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals' decision in the case of
LaRoyce Lathair Smith. The lower court had upheld the death sentence of
the Dallas killer, who claims faulty instructions prevented jurors from
sparing his life based on his 78 IQ and history of learning
disabilities. The justices also rejected, without comment, the sentence
of Ted Calvin Cole, also known as Jalil Abdul-Kabir. It sent his case
back to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, the
federal court that reviews Texas death sentences. Cole is challenging
his sentence, saying jurors were not able to fully consider his
troubled childhood and emotional problems. In their opinion in Smith's
case, the justices said that despite several of their previous rulings,
the Texas court failed to get the message that juries in capital murder
cases should fully consider mitigating evidence. "There is no question
that a jury might well have considered petitioner's IQ scores and
history of participation in special-education classes as a reason to
impose a sentence more lenient than death," the court said in a 12-page
opinion. The justices said the state court "erroneously relied on a
test we never countenanced and now have unequivocally rejected." [more]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
See website for complete article licensing information.