The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5–4 on May 28 to revive a black death row inmate’s challenge to his conviction.
The nation’s highest court found in Pitchford v. Cain that the trial judge didn’t properly handle claims that black jurors were excused on account of their race.
The highly technical case focused on whether defense attorneys did enough to object to the trial judge’s rulings and whether the Mississippi Supreme Court acted reasonably in finding they had failed to do so.
This is a procedural victory for Mississippi prisoner Terry Pitchford, but it does not overturn his conviction or death sentence. The ruling sends the case back to the lower courts for further consideration….