Yes, it’s possible for a person to have an IQ below 50 — and one of the most heartbreaking real-life examples is Joe Arridy, a man whose life became a symbol of both human innocence and judicial failure.
Joe Arridy was born with a severe intellectual disability. Tested by three state psychologists, his IQ was recorded at 46. As a child, he was placed in a school for the mentally disabled. He struggled to understand basic concepts, let alone complex ideas like crime, guilt, or justice.
In 1936, Joe was falsely accused of the rape and murder of a 15-year-old girl in Pueblo, Colorado. Under intense pressure, he was coerced into confessing to a crime he couldn’t possibly comprehend. His statements were inconsistent, and evidence showed that another man, Frank Aguilar, was already arrested as the prime suspect. Yet, despite the lack of understanding or evidence, Joe was convicted and sentenced to death by gas chamber.
Those who met him on death row described him as gentle and childlike — fond of his toy trains and ice cream. Even as he was led to the gas chamber, smiling, he reportedly said, “No, no, Joe won’t die.”
He didn’t understand that he was about to be executed.
In 2011, more than 70 years later, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter issued a posthumous pardon after evidence confirmed Joe wasn’t even in Pueblo when the crime occurred.
Joe Arridy remains remembered not just as the man with an IQ of 46, but as a tragic reminder of how innocence can be crushed under the weight of injustice.
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