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Death row competency assessments are moral judgments, not scientific determinations

M. Gregg Bloche

5h ago· 5 min readenOpinion

politics health criminal justice law & ethics

Summary

This opinion piece by Dr. M. Gregg Bloche argues that while doctors and psychologists can provide useful clinical assessments of cognitive disability in death row inmates, characterizing these judgments as "science" misrepresents medicine and psychology. The author contends that decisions about who is competent for execution are fundamentally moral and legal questions, not scientific ones. The piece traces the Supreme Court's 2002 ruling that executing "mentally retarded" inmates is unconstitutional, and critically examines how medical professionals have been drawn into making what are essentially moral determinations under the guise of scientific objectivity.

Source

bskyDeath row competency assessments are moral judgments, not scientific determinationsnews.bloomberglaw.com

Key quotes

· 3 pulled

Should doctors decide whom the state should put to death as punishment? That's hardly a job described in the Hippocratic Oath, by which physicians pledge, 'In every house where I come, I will enter only for the good of my patients.'

In 2002, the US Supreme Court expanded this role, holding that execution of 'mentally retarded' inmates constitutes 'cruel and unusual punishment,' prohibited by the Eighth Amendment.

Characterizing such judgments as science misrepresents medicine and psychology.

Snippet from the RSS feed

Opinion: Doctors' input on how to weigh cognitive disability in death penalty cases can be helpful, but characterizing such judgments as science misrepresents medicine and psychology, says Dr. M. Gregg Bloche of Georgetown Law.

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