All articles tagged with #batson v kentucky
The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled that Mississippi death-row inmate Terry Pitchford may have had his Batson-based challenge to jury selection mishandled, potentially undermining his conviction and death sentence and opening the door to retrial or resentencing, in a narrowly focused ruling on trial-court procedure.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled in favor of Terry Pitchford, a Black Mississippi inmate on death row, finding that his conviction likely stemmed from racial bias in jury selection when prosecutors struck four Black jurors. The ruling revives a lower-court finding that Pitchford’s attorney was blocked from pursuing a Batson challenge, potentially paving the way for retrial or resentencing.
Mississippi death-row inmate Terry Pitchford appeals to the Supreme Court over claims that prosecutor Doug Evans selectively struck Black jurors in his 2004 capital-murder trial; the case ties to earlier scrutiny of Evans in the Curtis Flowers matter and tests whether defense objections and state-court review were adequate, with potential outcomes including retrial or release if race-based jury discrimination is proven.