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Brumfield V. Cain Case Study

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Caption: Brumfield v. Cain, 576 U. S. ____ (2015). In this case, Brumfield, the petitioner, wants the United States Supreme Court to review a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Facts: Kevan Brumfield was convicted of murder of Betty Smothers, and was sentenced to death by a Louisiana court. This court decision was made before ruling that the 8th Amendment prohibits execution of the intellectually disabled under Atkins v. Virginia. Using the Atkins Mandate, in State v. Williams (2001), the Louisiana Supreme Court decided a hearing must take place to decide if Williams was actually intellectually disabled. He would have to prove this by showing (1) he has sub average intelligence as measured by a standardized IQ test and (2) significant impairment in several areas of adaptive skills (3) Manifestations of this neuro-psychological disorder in the developmental stage. In effort to prove his disability, Brumfield used Dr. Guin, a social worker, and Dr. Bolter, a neuropsychologist that performed a number of cognitive examinations on him. Procedural History: After the Williams decision, Brumfield amended his post-conviction petition to raise an Atkins claim, in which the Louisiana …show more content…

In addition, Brumfield’s low IQ scores, considering IQ tests margin of error, is enough to question his intellectual capacity as reasonable doubt and win his Atkins hearing. As far as the 5th Circuit claiming that the state court was not in violation of his rights because they initially did not provide him funds to make his case, is of no importance since the state court had acknowledged their mistake. After given the funds to show proper evidence Brumfield was indeed shown to be

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