The US Supreme Court has dismissed a lower court’s decision that prevented Alabama’s Joseph Clifton Smith from execution due to claims of intellectual disability. Smith was convicted for the 1997 murder of Durk Van Dam, and his death sentence was previously overturned by the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court argued that the appeals court’s interpretation of Smith’s IQ scores, which include a potential score of 69, needs further clarification. The case raises questions about how courts assess intellectual disability in relation to constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.