Legislature passes plan to consolidate Orleans Parish court clerk offices after heated debate

Published: April 27, 2026

By: Izzy Wollfarth, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — A House bill that would require people convicted in death-penalty cases to submit evidence of an IQ below 75 to claim an intellectual disability defense advanced in a committee last week after vigorous debate.

House Bill 1107 defines “intellectually disabled” as a condition that occurred before the age of 18 that impaired and continues to impair a person’s behavior and intellectual functioning. In the bill, the definition of disability aligns with an intelligence quotient (IQ) of 75 or below.

Claims of intellectual disability are restricted to death-penalty cases. The bill requires a person found guilty in a capital case to provide clear and convincing evidence of an intellectual disability, including written expert reports. If enough evidence supports the claim, a person on death row could have his or her sentence changed to life in prison.

The bill also stipulates that a petitioner’s IQ test score above 75 would provide irrefutable evidence that a person does not have an intellectual disability, keeping the death-row sentence intact.

The bill passed 8-3 Thursday in the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee.