Madison v. Alabama
Decided February 27, 2019. Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 17-7505 · 586 U.S. 265 (2019) · Cited 44 times
Holding
The Eighth Amendment may permit executing a prisoner even if he cannot remember committing his crime but it may prohibit executing a prisoner who suffers from dementia or another disorder rather than psychotic delusions.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 5–3.
Majority · 5
- John G. Roberts, Jr.
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Elena Kagan · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Dissenting · 3
- Clarence Thomas
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr. · filed a dissenting opinion
- Neil M. Gorsuch
Did not participate · 1
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Panetti v. Quarterman · 551 U.S. 930 (2007)
- Ford v. Wainwright · 477 U.S. 399 (1986)
- Dunn v. Madison · 583 U.S. 10 (2017)
- Clemons v. Mississippi · 494 U.S. 738 (1990)
- City and County of San Francisco v. Sheehan · 575 U.S. 600 (2015)
- Kindred Nursing Ctrs. Ltd. P'ship v. Clark · 581 U.S. 246 (2017)
Official text
Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)
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Elena Kagan’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2019). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).