{"id":3902,"date":"2026-05-28T16:40:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:40:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/28\/supreme-court-sides-with-mississippi-man-on-death-row-in-racial-bias-case\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T16:40:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T16:40:18","slug":"supreme-court-sides-with-mississippi-man-on-death-row-in-racial-bias-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=3902","title":{"rendered":"Supreme court sides with Mississippi man on death row in racial bias case"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"50116fd8-0d41-4558-9ae1-43d2bb32e06a\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"The US supreme court building\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/01e3227856977802eb495ebebdcd16d404a03b8a\/0_0_5959_3973\/master\/5959.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"310.02601107568387\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">US supreme court justices sided with Pitchford in a 5-4 decision.<\/span> Photograph: Will Oliver\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"50116fd8-0d41-4558-9ae1-43d2bb32e06a\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">US supreme court justices sided with Pitchford in a 5-4 decision.<\/span> Photograph: Will Oliver\/EPA<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">Supreme court sides with Mississippi man on death row in racial bias case<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-15in7js\">\n<p>Terry Pitchford, who was 18 when convicted of murder, argued that Black jurors were excluded from his trial<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2026\/feb\/17\/sign-up-for-the-breaking-news-us-email-to-get-newsletter-alerts-direct-to-your-inbox?utm_medium=ACQUISITIONS_STANDFIRST&amp;utm_campaign=BN22326&amp;utm_content=signup&amp;utm_term=standfirst&amp;utm_source=GUARDIAN_WEB\" data-link-name=\"in standfirst link\">Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/us-supreme-court\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">US supreme court<\/a> on Thursday ruled in favor of Terry Pitchford, a Black man convicted of capital murder and on death row in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/mississippi\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Mississippi<\/a>, who claimed that his conviction was due to the jury having racial bias.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The justices sided with Pitchford in a 5-4 vote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Pitchford, now 40, was just 18 when he and another teen robbed a grocery store in 2004. The other teen, who fired fatal shots, was still a minor and ineligible for the death penalty, but Pitchford was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"d506d463-71b0-4acb-ac65-d9f1ecd0aa9e\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-3 | 3\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-ak3j0c\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/21\/supreme-court-hamm-v-smith-death-penalty-intellectual-disability\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\"> US supreme court dismisses Alabama\u2019s bid to execute intellectually disabled man<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The focus of the supreme court ruling was on jury selection in Pitchford\u2019s case, when state prosecutors removed four out of five Black jurors. A jury composed of 11 white jurors and one Black juror would later convict Pitchford and sentence him to death.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The now retired prosecutor Doug Evans, who the Associated Press notes had a history of dismissing Black jurors for discriminatory reasons, had excused the four other Black jurors. Pitchford\u2019s attorney objected to the strikes during the trial, but the judge, Joseph Loper, allowed them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cThe trial court did not afford Pitchford\u2019s counsel a sufficient opportunity to rebut the prosecutor\u2019s proffered race-neutral reasons for striking the four Black jurors and never determined whether the prosecutor\u2019s stated reasons were pretextual,\u201d Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the court\u2019s majority opinion.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The supreme court\u2019s decision revives a federal judge\u2019s ruling that invalidated Pitchford\u2019s conviction on grounds that his lawyer was not allowed to pursue a line of questioning that Evans\u2019s jury selection was based on race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">During oral arguments in March, several supreme court justices appeared skeptical of whether Loper had sufficiently applied a Batson challenge, which refers to a 1986 ruling in Batson v Kentucky, in which the court reaffirmed that it is unconstitutional to keep Black people off juries due to their race.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.appealslawgroup.com\/batson-challenge\/#:~:text=1712%20(1986)%2C%20that%20peremptory,prosecutor%20having%20to%20say%20anything.\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Batson challenge<\/a> triggers a three-step process in which the objecting party must first show that there is an inference of discrimination. The striking party must then show reasonable, race-neutral explanations for striking certain jurors. The judge later determines whether there was purposeful discrimination.<\/p>\n<figure data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.NewsletterSignupBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-173mewl\">\n<div data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-ri3hap\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Much of the oral arguments focused on Loper\u2019s actions in the third step of the challenge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Seven years ago, in a case that also involved Loper, Mississippi\u2019s highest court and Evans, the supreme court overturned the death sentence and conviction of Curtis Flowers, a Black man who had been tried six times dating back more than 20 years. At that time, the supreme court had seven of the nine current justices. Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative justice, wrote that Evans showed a \u201crelentless, determined effort to rid the jury of Black individuals\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Prosecutors may seek to try Pitchford again,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/mississippi\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Mississippi<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-supreme-court\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US supreme court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/capital-punishment\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Capital punishment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/race\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Race<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-justice-system\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US justice system<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Supreme%20court%20sides%20with%20Mississippi%20man%20on%20death%20row%20in%20racial%20bias%20case&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/28\/supreme-court-mississippi-death-row-racial-bias?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F28%2Fsupreme-court-mississippi-death-row-racial-bias&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/28\/supreme-court-mississippi-death-row-racial-bias\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US supreme court justices sided with Pitchford in a 5-4 decision. Photograph: Will Oliver\/EPA View image in fullscreen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":3904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}