Bill passes to stop executions of intellectually disabled JONATHAN MATTISE, Associated Press FacebookTwitterEmail NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers on Monday passed legislation designed to prevent death row inmates with an intellectual disability from being executed. The action sends the bill to Republican Gov. Bill Lee's desk, with implications for the case of a current death row inmate. Pervis Payne's attorneys have argued he is intellectually disabled as they fight to prevent the state from executing him. He received a temporary reprieve from the governor last November due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that relief has since expired. In 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that executing a person with an intellectual disability violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. However, Tennessee's Supreme Court later determined there was no procedure for death row inmates to reopen their cases to explore intellectual disability claims and encouraged state lawmakers to address the issue.