The Supreme Court of the United States appeared likely Tuesday to side with a Black death row inmate from Mississippi who claims racial bias tainted the jury that convicted him. The case centers on whether prosecutors improperly excluded Black jurors during jury selection.
The appeal was brought by Terry Pitchford, whose case shares similarities with a previous ruling involving another Mississippi death row inmate. In that case, the court overturned the conviction of Curtis Flowers over concerns about racial discrimination in jury selection, the Associated Press reported.
Pitchford was convicted and sentenced to death for his role in the killing of a grocery store owner in northern Mississippi. The jury that sentenced him included only one Black juror after prosecutors dismissed four others.
Former prosecutor Doug Evans, who handled the case, had a documented history of striking Black jurors. His actions were challenged under the Supreme Court’s 1986 ruling in Batson v. Kentucky, which prohibits dismissing jurors based on race.
The case now before the court focuses on whether Pitchford’s defense team properly objected during jury selection. It also examines whether the Mississippi Supreme Court acted reasonably in rejecting those claims.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the trial record suggests one of Pitchford’s lawyers attempted to raise objections at the time. “She’s trying to make the objections right there,” Kavanaugh said, reading from the transcript.
Several justices criticized how the trial was handled by both the defense and the judge. Justice Samuel Alito said the defense counsel’s performance was unusually weak.
“This is the most timid and reticent defense counsel that I have ever encountered,” Alito said. He also faulted Judge Joseph Loper for accepting the prosecutor’s explanations without fully analyzing whether race was a factor.
“The judge didn’t handle this the way it should have been handled,” Alito said. Other justices expressed similar concerns about the handling of jury selection.
Mississippi Solicitor General Scott Stewart argued that Pitchford’s case should not be treated the same as Flowers’. He said the circumstances differ in ways that warrant a different outcome.
“In Flowers versus Mississippi, this Court faced an extraordinary case and ruled against the state,” Stewart said. “This case is also extraordinary but in a very different way that requires a very different result.”
The court could rule in Pitchford’s favor while leaving it to lower courts to determine whether his conviction should be overturned. That outcome would likely send the case back for further review.
Pitchford, now 40, was 18 at the time of the crime. Prosecutors said he and another person attempted to rob a grocery store outside Grenada, Mississippi, where the store owner was fatally shot.
The co-defendant, who was younger than 18, was not eligible for the death penalty. Pitchford was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.
The case has been moving through the courts for two decades. In 2023, U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills overturned Pitchford’s conviction, finding that his lawyers were not given sufficient opportunity to argue that Black jurors were improperly excluded.
The Supreme Court has had a busy schedule this week as, on Tuesday, it ruled that Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors violates the First Amendment rights of a therapist who challenged the law. In an 8–1 decision, the court sided with Kaley Chiles, a conservative Christian therapist, finding that the restriction on counseling practices amounted to a violation of free speech protections.
The ruling is expected to have broader national implications, as more than 20 states have enacted similar laws. Legal analysts also say the decision could affect other areas of regulation involving professional speech in medical and counseling settings.
Writing for the majority, Justice Neil Gorsuch said that “the First Amendment stands as a shield against any effort to enforce orthodoxy in thought or speech in this country.”