×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
Kentucky Supreme Court Declares Law Defining Intellectual Disability Unconstitutional, Overturns Death Sentence
by Dale Chappell
The Supreme Court of Kentucky held that the state statute determining intellectual disability for disallowing imposition of the death penalty was unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment after recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, overturning the death sentence of a man on death row for over 20 years.
Robert ...
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Criminal Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from this issue:
- Dallas County Private Bail Hearings Leave People Languishing Behind Bars, by Kevin Bliss
- New App Makes It Simple for Civilians to Record Police Encounters
- Sex Offender Registration Biased Against Blacks, by Kevin Bliss
- Arizona Supreme Court Strikes Law Categorically Banning Bail for Sexual Assault as Unconstitutional, by Dale Chappell
- $384 Million Paid Out by New York City in Last Five Years for Police Misconduct, by Derek Gilna
- ACLU Report: A Tale of Two NYCs When It Comes to Policing, by Derek Gilna
- Fourth Circuit Affirms District Court Ruling that Man Committed as ‘Sexually Dangerous’ Should be Released, by Christopher Zoukis
- Increase in Crime Registries Nationwide Not a Benefit to Society, by Kevin Bliss
- Ninth Circuit Grants Habeas for Appellate Lawyer’s Failure to Raise Denial of Self-Representation Claim, by Matthew Clarke
- Tenth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief When ACCA Predicate Offense No Longer Qualifies as ‘Violent Felony’, by Christopher Zoukis
- Chicago Judge Grants No-Money Bond in Murder Case, But Cook County Still Has a Long Way to Go, by Dale Chappell
- FBI Admits Vastly Inflating Number of Unsearchable Mobile Devices
- Oklahoma’s Railroading its Citizens into Prison, by Edward Lyon
- Second Circuit Announces Prisoners Have First Amendment Right Not to Snitch or Provide False Information to Prison Officials, by Richard Resch
- Under Fire, Long Beach Police Suspend Use of Self-Deleting Message App, by Betty Nelander
- Michigan Supreme Court Announces New Rule for Appointing Expert Witness for Indigent Defendants, No Longer Left to Trial Judge’s Discretion, by Dale Chappell
- Oregon Enhanced Drug Penalty ‘For Consideration’ Element Requires Proof of Drug Sale or Agreement to Sell, by Mark Wilson
- Orlando Police Continue to Test Amazon’s Facial Recognition Software Despite Privacy Concerns
- Pennsylvania State Senator Sends the Cops to Collect on Overdue Trash Bills Owed to His Company, by Christopher Zoukis
- Colorado Supreme Court Holds Ameliorative Amendments Apply Retroactively to Non-Final Convictions, by Dale Chappell
- First Circuit Orders Resentencing Where Trial Counsel Failed to Secure Three-Level Reduction Under Sentencing Guidelines, by David Reutter
- Federal Death Penalty Prosecutors Accuse One Another of Destroying Evidence and Other Misconduct in Discrimination Lawsuit, by Shawn Musgrave, Brooke Williams
- Ninth Circuit Rules Detective’s Persistent Questioning After Invocation of Right to Counsel Entitles California Prisoner to Habeas Relief, by Richard Resch
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Reverses Conviction for Improper Lesser-Included-Offense Determination, by Christopher Zoukis
- Washington Supreme Court Announces State’s Death Penalty Is Unconstitutional, by Richard Resch
- Snarky Facebook Post Not True Threat; Officers Denied Qualified Immunity, by David Reutter
- Sixth Circuit Grants Habeas Relief When Juror Failed to Disclose History of Sexual Abuse in Sexual Assault Case, by Christopher Zoukis
- New York Court of Appeals: Excited Utterance Must Be Based on Personal Observation to Be Admissible as Exception to Hearsay Rule, by Dale Chappell
- Three Reasons Why the Supreme Court Should Eliminate the Doctrine of Qualified Immunity, by Christopher Zoukis
- Seventh Circuit: Habeas Petition Challenging § 841 Recidivism Sentence Enhanced with Vacated State Convictions is Not Time-Barred by § 851(e) Statute of Limitations, by Christopher Zoukis
- California Court of Appeal Rules 17-Year Delay in SVP Trial Violated Right to Speedy Trial, by Kevin Bliss
- Warning: Integrity of Judicial Process at Risk, by Sandy Rozek
- Kentucky Supreme Court Declares Law Defining Intellectual Disability Unconstitutional, Overturns Death Sentence, by Dale Chappell
- Is Blue Privilege at Work in Texas Police Killings?, by Betty Nelander
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Holds FTA Does Not Affect Independent Speedy Trial Violation by Prosecutor, by Dale Chappell
- Habeas Hints: Evaluating and Initiating IAC Claims, by Kent Russell, Tara Hoveland
- Should the Minimum Age for the Death Penalty be Bumped Up to 21?
- Colorado Supreme Court Announces ‘Preponderance of the Evidence’ Standard for Determining Voluntariness of Consent to Search, by Dale Chappell
- Free at Last! California Modifies Its Felony Murder Law, Helping up to 800 Prisoners Currently Serving Life Sentences, by Edward Lyon
- Arkansas Supreme Court Reverses Negligent Homicide Conviction Where Evidence Obtained Via Warrantless Blood Draw Used, by Christopher Zoukis
- News in Brief
- Eyewitness (Mis)Identification in the Criminal Justice System: Powerful, Persuasive, and Problematic, by Christopher Zoukis
More from Dale Chappell:
- Arguing Successful Federal Habeas Corpus Claims, June 1, 2025
- How to Take Your Postconviction Case Directly to the U.S. Supreme Court: A Roadmap to Direct Collateral Review, March 15, 2025
- Federal Habeas Corpus for State Prisoners: Proving Unreasonableness Under AEDPA, Feb. 1, 2025
- Federal Court Rules Michigan’s Sex Offender Registration Laws Violate Constitution, Dec. 1, 2024
- Refuting the Government’s Argument Against Nonretroactive Changes in Law as Grounds for Compassionate Release, Oct. 1, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Getting Around Procedural Default, July 15, 2024
- The Death of the Savings Clause, May 15, 2024
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Understanding Second or Successive Petitions for State Prisoners, April 15, 2024
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates Relief From Death Penalty, Citing State’s Forfeiture of Argument Against Relief, May 15, 2023
- Federal Habeas Corpus: The Evidentiary Hearing for Federal Prisoners, April 15, 2023
More from these topics:
- CDCR Held in Contempt, Fined $112 Million in Longstanding Litigation Over Mental Health Care, Aug. 1, 2025. Staffing, Mental Health, Failure to Treat (Mental Illness), Suicides.
- Oklahoma Prisoner’s Execution Was Expedited by the Trump Administration, Aug. 1, 2025. Death Penalty, Death Row, Lethal Injection.
- On Remand, Eleventh Circuit Clarifies, Affirms Grant of Habeas Relief to Death Row Prisoner, Aug. 1, 2025. Habeas Corpus, Death Penalty, Death Row.
- Georgia Moves to Shield Intellectually Disabled Prisoners from Execution, June 1, 2025. Sentencing, Death Penalty.
- Policing the Vulnerable: The Criminalization of Disability, May 15, 2025. Disabled Prisoners, Mental Health.
- The Crushing Toll of Ohio’s Death Penalty: A Billion-Dollar Failure, May 15, 2025. Costs, Death Penalty.
- Georgia Eliminates Legal Standard That Sent Intellectually Disabled Prisoners to Death Row, May 15, 2025. Mental Health, Capital Punishment.
- Idaho Warden Bought Execution Drugs on Roadside, May 1, 2025. Medication, Death Penalty, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- South Carolina Conducts First U.S. Execution by Firing Squad in 15 Years, May 1, 2025. Death Penalty, Method of Execution.
- Younger Generations Lead Decline in U.S. Support for Death Penalty, April 15, 2025. Death Penalty.