Episode 288: Recognizing Defendants' Disabilities

The criminal legal system often misunderstands—and mishandles—people with intellectual disabilities. Law professor Katie Kronick explains how and why these individuals so often fall through the cracks in a system built around efficiency and rigid rules. She breaks down the stakes with real examples, including a high-profile death penalty case now before the Supreme Court, and shares ideas for building a criminal justice system that recognizes and respects the needs of defendants with intellectual disabilities. For more on this topic: Read Kronick's amicus brief for the Supreme Court case Hamm v. Smith Check out her essay in the Sentencing Matters Substack: Why is it So Hard for Courts to Adjust to Advancements in Knowledge of Human Behavior? Read her op-ed in the Baltimore Sun : The Criminal Legal System Is Failing People With Intellectual Disabilities

You can listen to Episode 288: Recognizing Defendants' Disabilities online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 288: Recognizing Defendants' Disabilities is an episode from Scholars Strategy Network's No Jargon by Dominik Doemer.

This episode is 37:04 long.

This episode was published on Nov 18, 2025.

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