State v. Ford
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The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of two counts of aggravated murder and sentence of death for one of the murders but vacated the sentence, holding that the trial court erred in ruling that Defendant was not intellectually disabled.
On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial court erred in concluding that he was not intellectually disabled. The Supreme Court remanded the case to the trial court to hold a new hearing to determine whether Defendant was intellectually disabled in accordance with the criteria set forth in this opinion, holding (1) the trial court should have discussed evidence presented on the Flynn Effect, although it was in the trial court's discretion whether to include it as a factor in Defendant's IQ scores; (2) the trial court used the wrong standard in finding that Defendant did not have significant limitations in his adaptive skills; (3) the holding in State v. Lott, 779 N.E.2d 1011 (Ohio 2002), that there is a rebuttable presumption that a defendant is not intellectually disabled if his IQ score is above 70 is no longer valid; and (4) for purposes of eligibility for the death penalty, a court determining whether a defendant is intellectually disabled must consider three core elements set forth in this opinion.
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