Supreme Court declines to hear Texas man's intellectual disability case in capital case

The Supreme Court Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to stop the execution of Victor Saldaño, convicted of murder in Texas in 1996, but who subsequently got the support of not just defense experts, but state experts as well, who determined that he was intellectually disabled and thus not eligible for execution under the law.

Saldaño was convicted of murder in a robbery gone wrong, but his first lawyers did not raise the claim of intellectual disability at trial. Saldaño was in the country illegally at the time of the crime. Eventually, however, his case was referred to the Texas Office of Capital Forensic Writs, a state public defender's office. Lawyers there determined that Saldaño had an IQ of 74, within the range that could qualify him for not being executed.

Ben Wolff, the director of the Forensic Writs office, then went to Argentina, where Saldaño was raised. In an interview with NPR, Wolff said neighbors, family, and teachers all agreed that Saldaño was sometimes delusional and unable to understand such simple directions as how to cross the street without being hit by a car.

After viewing the evidence, prosecutors representing the state of Texas agreed that Saldaño should not be eligible for the death penalty. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed, and Saldaño's lawyers appealed to the Supreme Court.

On Monday, the Supreme Court refused to hear Saldaño's case, meaning that he is likely to be executed. His lawyers, however, said they will continue to their fight to prevent his execution.

The vote was 6-to-3 with the court's three liberals dissenting.

"Every expert who has evaluated Mr. Saldaño for intellectual disability agrees he's intellectually disabled," Wolff said in a statement. "The state of Texas, who several years ago sought Mr. Saldaño's execution, now agrees that he meets the criteria for intellectual disability. It is disappointing that the courts have yet to allow us through the courthouse doors to present what we believe to be overwhelming evidence that Mr. Saldaño is intellectually disabled and, as such, the U.S. Constitution forbids his execution."