The Supreme Court Hands a Rare Victory to a Death Row Inmate The Supreme Court's decision to dismiss Hamm v.
Smith without issuing a ruling on whether an Alabama inmate can be executed for intellectual disability may seem like a victory for death row inmates, but it reveals a more complex dynamic: a nuanced dance of judicial politics.
At its core, the case revolves around the issue of intellectual disability in capital punishment. In 2002's Atkins v.