The Supreme Court has ruled that a Black death row inmate in Mississippi deserves a new trial after prosecutors used race-based jury strikes in his original case, delivering a 5-4 decision that revives longstanding questions about fairness in capital proceedings.
Terry Pitchford was 18 when he was convicted of murder during a 2004 robbery of a grocery store owner. Though Pitchford did not fire the fatal shots, prosecutors sought the death penalty against him while the actual shooter, Eric Bullin, who was younger and ineligible for capital punishment under law, later pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The conviction hinged partly on a jury composed of just one Black member in a county that is 40% Black.
Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh emphasized that defense attorneys must have a meaningful opportunity to challenge prosecutors' stated race-neutral reasons for striking jurors. In Pitchford's case, he noted, the jury selection process failed that standard. "Whether due to confusion, oversight, an overly hurried jury selection process, or some other cause, things broke down," Kavanaugh wrote.
The central dispute involves jury selection practices by District Attorney Doug Evans, who struck four Black prospective jurors while the defense team had limited chance to object or argue the prosecution's motives. Evans is no longer in office but has faced scrutiny for similar patterns. In 2019, the high court threw out the murder conviction of another Black defendant, Curtis Flowers, over Evans' exclusion of Black jurors in that case.
Pitchford's case turned on whether prosecutors violated the landmark 1986 Batson v. Kentucky standard, which prohibits race-based jury strikes. At trial, a judge accepted the prosecution's claim of race-neutral reasons and moved forward quickly. The Mississippi Supreme Court later ruled that Pitchford had waived his right to challenge those claims. A federal judge disagreed in 2023, invalidating the conviction. But the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Pitchford's appeal in 2025, setting the stage for Supreme Court review.
Kavanaugh was joined in the majority by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberal justices. Four conservative justices dissented. Justice Neil Gorsuch argued the majority had exceeded its authority under federal law governing state prisoner appeals, though he acknowledged the ruling's practical impact would be limited.
Joseph Perkovich, one of Pitchford's lawyers, said his client "is now entitled to a fair trial in the state court, one without racial taint in the selection of his jury." A spokeswoman for Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch declined to comment.
The ruling sends the case back to lower courts. Prosecutors could seek to retry Pitchford, or the state could release him from prison. Either way, the decision marks a rare moment of consensus across ideological lines on the bench that jury selection procedures require genuine scrutiny when race is involved.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "This ruling won't undo the past 20 years, but it signals that even the conservative wing of the court isn't willing to rubber-stamp jury rigging when the evidence is this stark."
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