"Judge's Ruling Exposes Racial Bias in Mississippi Death Penalty Case"

A federal judge has overturned the death penalty conviction of Terry Pitchford in Mississippi, ruling that the trial judge did not allow enough opportunity for Pitchford's lawyer to argue that the prosecution was dismissing Black jurors for discriminatory reasons. The judge cited the history of the former District Attorney's discrimination against Black jurors as a motivating factor. Pitchford must be retried within six months or be released from custody. The judge's decision was also influenced by the racially biased prosecution of another Black man by the same District Attorney.