Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., left, Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Neil M. Gorsuch at the State of the Union address this month. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)An inmate suffering from dementia may not be executed if his disease is so severe that he is not able to rationally understand the reason for his punishment, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. Justice Elena Kagan, delivering the opinion for the majority in the 5-to-3 ruling, said the same logic applies to those who cannot understand the link between their crimes and punishment because of dementia. It said the case has to go back to a lower court to determine the extent of Madison’s dementia; it said there was reason to believe the lower court had not performed that task. Breyer, who has questioned in the past whether the death penalty can be applied in a constitutional way, said during oral arguments that the issues in Madison’s case are likely to recur.

Source: Washington Post February 27, 2019 20:28 UTC