Supreme court hearing Mississippi death penalty case over alleged racial jury bias

The Supreme Court is hearing a case regarding alleged racial bias in jury selection during the 2006 capital murder trial of Terry Pitchford in Mississippi. Pitchford, convicted of capital murder for his role in a robbery where a fatal shot was fired, was sentenced to death after prosecutor Doug Evans removed multiple Black prospective jurors, leaving only one on the panel. Pitchford's defense argues that the jury selection was racially motivated, citing similarities to the Curtis Flowers case, where Evans and the same judge were involved in a similar pattern of striking Black jurors, ultimately leading to the Supreme Court overturning Flowers' conviction. The current case has been ongoing for decades and centers on whether Pitchford's conviction should be overturned due to racial bias in jury selection.

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the case of Terry Pitchford, a Black Mississippi death row inmate, concerning racial bias in jury selection. Pitchford was convicted and sentenced to death for his role in the 2004 killing of a store owner. The case involves Doug Evans, the former prosecutor known for dismissing Black jurors, and Judge Joseph Loper, who presided over the trial. A lower court had previously overturned Pitchford's conviction, citing insufficient opportunity for his lawyers to argue against the prosecution's dismissal of Black jurors, but this ruling was reversed on appeal. The Supreme Court previously overturned a conviction involving the same prosecutor, judge, and state high court due to racial bias in jury selection. The court's decision could have implications for how racial bias claims are handled in capital cases.