Background
Edward Lee Busby was convicted of kidnapping, robbery, and murder and sentenced to death in Texas. He has repeatedly filed habeas petitions claiming intellectual disability under Atkins versus Virginia, which prohibits executing individuals with intellectual disabilities. The state trial court recently denied his claim, finding he did not prove intellectual disability by a preponderance of the evidence despite expert testimony. The district court denied his Rule sixty B motion to reopen the federal habeas proceeding, treating it as a successive petition.
The court’s reasoning
The per curiam order did not issue a full written opinion on the merits. Judge Higginson joined the temporary stay because the Supreme Court is reviewing whether and how courts may consider multiple IQ scores in Atkins claims. Judge Graves would grant habeas relief, noting that the state trial court relied on its own recollections rather than the consensus of medical experts. Judge Richman dissented from the stay, concluding the state court’s factual determinations were not unreasonable under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.
The dissent
What it means going forward
The execution scheduled for May fourteenth, two thousand twenty-six, is temporarily stayed. The case remains pending while the Supreme Court considers the legal standards for evaluating intellectual disability in capital cases.
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