Mississippi v. Scott

A circuit court judge ruled death-row inmate Kevin Scott was intellectually disabled and thus ineligible for the death penalty under the Eighth Amendment. The State appealed: (1) the trial judge ignored the mandate of the case before this, “Scott II,” which directed Scott take a specific malingering test before his intellectual disability hearing; (2) the trial judge abused his discretion when he permitted Scott’s experts to testify at the intellectual-disability hearing; and (3) the trial judge failed to make independent findings off act and conclusions of law when ruling Scott intellectually disabled. After review, the Mississippi Supreme Court found no reversible error: the requirement to take a specific malingering test was expressly overruled four months after the mandate in Scott II. The admission of Scott’s experts was within the sound discretion of the trial court. Finally, though the State had ample opportunity, it made no attempt to supplement the record to prove its allegation that the trial judge recited Scott’s proposed findings instead of making his own independent findings. The Court affirmed the order vacating Scott’s death sentence based on the finding of intellectual disability. The case was remanded for resentencing. View "Mississippi v. Scott" on Justia Law