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Supreme Court rules for Black death row inmate from Mississippi over racial bias in makeup of jury
The justices said Pitchford’s lawyers may not have had enough chance to challenge the prosecutor’s removal of Black jurors, in a case tied to Batson rules.
- On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of Terry Pitchford, a Black Mississippi death row inmate, over claims that prosecutors improperly excluded Black jurors during his trial.
- The case has spent 20 years in the legal system, anchored in the 40-year-old Batson v. Kentucky precedent that prohibits excusing jurors based on race and requires judges to evaluate discrimination claims.
- Prosecutor Doug Evans dismissed four Black jurors in Pitchford's case; Evans also prosecuted Curtis Flowers, whose conviction the Supreme Court overturned seven years ago citing a "relentless, determined effort to rid the jury of Black individuals," Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote.
- District Judge Michael P. Mills overturned Pitchford's conviction in 2023, citing Evans' prior actions as partial motivation; a unanimous panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals later reversed that ruling.
- Pitchford, now 40, was 18 when he and a friend robbed Crossroads Grocery near Grenada in northern Mississippi; store owner Reuben Britt was fatally shot, though the friend was ineligible for capital punishment due to his age.
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32 Articles
Supreme Court sides with Mississippi death row inmate who alleged racial bias in jury selection
In a case that raised questions about racial bias in the criminal justice system, the Supreme Court threw out the murder conviction of a Black death row inmate in Mississippi.
·United States
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Supreme Court finds racial bias in jury of Black Mississippi death row inmate
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled for a Black death row inmate from Mississippi who claims there was racial bias in the makeup of the jury that convicted him.By a 5-4 vote, the justices sided with Terry Pitchford, who was sentenced to death for his role in the killing of a grocery store owner.
·Alabama, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources32
Leaning Left14Leaning Right3Center13Last UpdatedBias Distribution47% Left
Bias Distribution
- 47% of the sources lean Left
47% Left
L 47%
C 43%
Factuality
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