Supreme Court set to rule on Texas death row inmate's disability claim

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday in a case involving Dexter Johnson, a Texas death row inmate convicted of capital murder. The dispute centers on a claim of intellectual disability that was not raised during Johnson's original trial. He was found guilty in 2006 for the killing of 23-year-old Maria Aparece.

Johnson was originally scheduled for execution in May 2019. A federal court stayed the sentence after his legal team presented new evidence. That evidence relied on the 2013 release of the DSM-5, a manual from the American Psychiatric Association. The update shifted how clinicians evaluate intelligence. It moved away from rigid IQ thresholds toward a focus on adaptive functioning deficits.

Ethan Nutter, a lawyer for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, explained that the medical community's view of intellectual disability has shifted over the last two decades. He noted that under current standards, Johnson meets the definition of the condition. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that executing intellectually disabled individuals is unconstitutional.

Johnson's legal team stated that a trial expert withdrew a previous diagnosis under the new framework. Two additional experts concluded that Johnson is intellectually disabled. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice asked the Supreme Court to review the lower court's decision in February 2026. The department argued that the ruling erases strict limits on claims based on new evidence.

The Texas agency also cited a delay in justice for the families of the victim. Protasio Aparece, the father of Maria Aparece, filed an amicus brief supporting the state's position. He expressed interest in seeing justice carried out and preventing other families from enduring similar delays. The lower court's holding allowed a second or successive habeas petition, a procedural step that is typically restricted.

The court's decision will address whether federal courts can hear such late-stage challenges. Nutter described the issue as narrow, focusing on the procedural ability to address the petition. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a final ruling by June 2027.