Death row inmate appeals intellectual disability case denial

By KIMBERLEE KRUESI
Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A Tennessee death row inmate is appealing a state trial court’s dismissal of his request to be declared intellectually disabled, which would make him ineligible for execution. Earlier this year, Senior Judge Walter Kurtz ruled that federal courts had previously determined Byron Black was not intellectually disabled and therefore was ineligible to have the decision considered once again. Kurtz handed down his decision even though Nashville’s top prosecutor and Black’s lawyers agreed he shouldn’t be put to death due to his intellectual disability. On Wednesday, Black’s attorneys filed a motion asking the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals for a hearing to prove that executing Black would would violate the state’s Constitution.