MS death penalty case to be argued before the Supreme Court
GRENADA/WASHINGTON D.C (WCBI) – A familiar subject and a familiar name from Mississippi will be coming up before the United States Supreme Court this week.
Mississippi Today reports that the death penalty case of Terry Pitchford will be argued before the court beginning Tuesday.
Pitchford’s name is a new one, but seven of the justices are familiar with the name of Doug Evans, the prosecutor in Pitchford’s murder trial, and the basis for Pitchford’s appeal, the potential dismissal of Black jurors for discriminatory reasons.
Pitchford was sentenced to death in the 2004 killing of Reuben Britt, the owner of Crossroads Grocery in Grenada County. Pitchford and a friend went to the store to rob it. The friend shot and killed Britt, but was under 18 and not eligible for the death penalty. Pitchford was 18 and tried for Capital Murder, convicted, and sentenced to death.
The prosecution under Evans dismissed four of five potential Black jurors. Defense attorneys objected, but Judge Joseph Loper accepted all four explanations and moved forward.
Evans and Loper were the prosecutor and judge over the trial of Curtis Flowers, whose conviction and death penalty were overturned by the Supreme Court seven years ago.
Federal District Judge Michael Mills overturned Pitchford’s conviction in 2023, but the state appealed, and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed Mills’ ruling.
The Supreme Court will look at whether defense attorneys did enough to object to Judge Loper’s rulings.
