The SCOTUSblog case file for Hall v. Florida contains all briefing.
Today's Los Angeles Times publishes the OpEd, "Intellectually disabled but on death row: The troubling case of Freddie Hall," by Marc J. Tassé. He is a past president of the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Here's the beginning:
Shortly after his birth in 1945, Freddie Hall's family knew that something was different about him. And later, he was slow to learn, to walk and to talk, and it was challenging for his family to understand his speech. He was raised under difficult circumstances in an impoverished and abusive home, the 16th of 17 children, and showed early signs of serious intellectual and developmental delays.
Hall's elementary school teachers also noticed his problems with learning and recommended a special education teacher, as shown in school records dating from the 1950s. His fourth-grade, sixth-grade, seventh-grade and eighth-grade teachers all wrote that he was "mentally retarded." There is no indication that Hall ever received the special educational support that his teachers recommended. After being "socially promoted" through school, Hall dropped out in the 11th grade.
As an adult, Hall is illiterate and cannot perform basic math. Clinicians who have conducted psychological evaluations of him have said that his functioning is comparable to that of a first-grader.
Earlier coverage of Hall v. Florida begins at the link. The case will be argued at the U.S. Supreme Court next Monday.
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