Supreme court sides with Mississippi man on death row in racial bias case

The US supreme court on Thursday ruled in favor of Terry Pitchford, a Black man convicted of capital murder and on death row in Mississippi, who claimed that his conviction was due to the jury having racial bias.

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/mo/st-louis/politics/2026/05/28/supreme-court-rules-for-terry-pitchfor-inmate-mississippi-jury-bias-case

By a 5-4 vote, the justices sided with Terry Pitchford, who was sentenced to death for his role in the killing of a grocery store owner.

"In this case, whether due to confusion, oversight, an overly hurried jury selection process, or some other cause, things broke down," Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the court. Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's three liberal justices joined with Kavanaugh.

There were 11 white jurors and one Black juror in a trial with similarities to that of another Black man on Mississippi's death row, whose conviction the high court overturned seven years ago.

It's unclear what happens next in Pitchford's case. Justice Neil Gorsuch, who dissented, suggested the state still could argue Pitchford's conviction should be sustained. If his conviction is overturned, the state could seek to retry him.

"Mr. Pitchford is now entitled to a fair trial in the state court," Joseph Perkovich, who argued the case for Pitchford at the Supreme Court, wrote in an email.

Doug Evans, a now-retired prosecutor with a history of dismissing Black jurors for discriminatory reasons, had excused four other Black people at Pitchford's trial. Black people make up more than 37% of Mississippi's population.

(The presiding judge who had his decision overturned was Joseph Loper, judge for the Fifth Judicial District of Mississippi


The justices sided with Pitchford in a 5-4 vote.

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.

The focus of the supreme court ruling was on jury selection in Pitchford’s 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.

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From Here and Now radio today May 28
https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2026/05/28/scotus-racism-jury-selection (Listen)

Supreme Court sides with death row inmate in case on racism and jury selection
05:56

On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with a defendant in a case about jury selection and racial bias.

Here & Now's Robin Young speaks with former federal prosecutor Paul Butler, who is a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center.

This segment aired on May 28, 2026.