Latest news with #MississippiSupremeCourt
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
He was 20 when he was sentenced to death. Now he hopes US Supreme Court will hear his case
A man on Mississippi's death row is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to take a look at his case while he continues seeking other federal relief. Terry Pitchford, 39, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2006 for the death of a man in a Grenada County grocery store during an armed robbery in 2004. In 2023, Terry Pitchford's conviction and death sentence were set aside and a new trial was ordered by a federal district court judge. The state appealed and the conviction and sentence were reinstated after a ruling in favor of the state by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mississippi: Man whose death sentence was overturned in 2023 is now facing death again. Here's why Now Pitchford is hoping the nation's highest court will review his case while he also continues to work on other aspects of the case in the Mississippi Northern District of U.S. District Court. The state has until July 3 to file a brief opposing Pitchford's petition. The Supreme Court may consider Pitchford's petition at the opening conference of the October term. Pitchford is asking the Supreme Court to review his Batson claim, which refers to jury selection in which race, ethnicity or gender played a role in excluding potential jurors. During jury selection at Pitchford's trial, then-District Attorney Doug Evans "used four of his allotted 12 peremptory strikes to remove four of the five Black venirepersons provisionally seated in the jury's empaneling," court records show. Evans was accused of doing the same during the prosecution of Curtis Flowers, who stood trial six times for the murders of four people at a furniture store in Winona. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2019 overturned Flowers' conviction for the last time, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh "citing a 'relentless, determined effort to rid the jury of Black individuals,'" according to an earlier story. In Pitchford's case, during his appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court said Pitchford should have raised objections at his initial trial if he wanted to contest the jury selection. The court's decision in favor of the state was not unanimous. Two justices disagreed with the ruling, saying "the record showed that D.A. Evans used peremptory strikes in an intentionally racially discriminatory manner," according to court documents. The federal court agreed with the dissenters and set aside Pitchford's conviction and ordered a new trial. The federal appellate court looked at the case and determined the Mississippi Supreme Court did not err when it considered the Batson claim and reinstated Pitchford's conviction and sentence. Now it will be up to the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in, if it decides to review the case. Lici Beveridge is a reporter for the Hattiesburg American and Clarion Ledger. Contact her at lbeveridge@ Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi death row inmate asks SCOTUS for help
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Tim Taylor wins Canton mayoral election
CANTON, Miss. (WJTV) – Tim Taylor (D) is the apparent winner of the Canton mayoral race. The unofficial results showed Taylor defeated Chip Matthews (R) and Walter Peeples (I). Comelia Walker, who lost to Taylor in the Democratic primary runoff election on April 22, is taking her election challenge to the Mississippi Supreme Court. She lost by less than 50 votes and asked for a recount. Taylor was certified as the winner and was on the ballot on Tuesday. Walker filed a petition claiming recently annexed areas of the city were not able to vote. Over the weekend, a judge dismissed her petition saying there was no evidence any voter was disenfranchised. Walker appealed the judge's decision on Monday. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Will the U.S. Supreme Court grant a stay of execution for Mississippi man on death row?
Mississippi's oldest prisoner on death row has filed an emergency stay of execution with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking for a last-minute reprieve. Richard Gerald Jordan, who turned 79 on May 25, is scheduled for execution on June 25. Jordan has been on death row in Mississippi since 1977 for the 1976 kidnapping and murder of Edwina Marter, the wife of a Gulfport bank executive. His attorneys are questioning the constitutionality of his death sentence, saying he was never given "the assistance of an expert 'sufficiently available to the defense' to assist in evaluating and preparing a mitigation case based on Petitioner's mental condition," according to the application for the stay filed May 21. What to know: Mississippi has an execution scheduled. How is it done? What is the process? "Petitioner was examined by a psychiatrist whose report was provided to the prosecution and then used against Petitioner during his sentencing proceedings." Jordan also is still awaiting the outcome of a petition for a writ of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court. "If this execution is not stayed pending disposition of this case, Petitioner will undeniably suffer irreparable harm," his attorneys said in court documents. "This is an 'irremediable' harm because 'execution is the most irremediable and unfathomable of penalties.'" Death row: Mississippi man to be executed in June asks state court to reconsider elements of his case In addition, executing Jordan before the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the petition would mean the Mississippi Supreme Court would be stripping power from the nation's highest court by rendering its decision moot, Jordan's attorneys wrote. Jordan's attorneys hope the U.S. Supreme Court will consider Jordan's petition at its May 29 conference. Lici Beveridge is a reporter for the Hattiesburg American and Clarion Ledger. Contact her at lbeveridge@ Follow her on X @licibev or Facebook at This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi death row inmate asks SCOTUS for stay of execution
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Brett Favre's defamation lawsuit against Mississippi auditor proceeds
Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre will be permitted to continued to pursue a defamation lawsuit against Mississippi auditor Shad White. The Associated Press reports that, on Thursday, the Mississippi Supreme Court denied White's request to dismiss the civil action filed against him. "The facts of this case have not changed and Auditor White will continue to defend himself from this ridiculous and frivolous lawsuit," White's office said in a statement. In court filings, White argued that the "continued litigation of this case not only threatens important First Amendment rights," and that "[e]qually if not more worrisomely, it discourages public servants from doing their jobs." Favre's lawsuit, filed in 2023, claims that White falsely accused the former Packers, Jet, and Vikings quarterback of stealing taxpayer money in both media appearances and in a book. Favre has strongly denied wrongdoing in connection with the Mississippi welfare scandal. He has never been criminally charged.
NBC Sports
10-05-2025
- Politics
- NBC Sports
Brett Favre's defamation lawsuit against Mississippi auditor proceeds
Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre will be permitted to continued to pursue a defamation lawsuit against Mississippi auditor Shad White. The Associated Press reports that, on Thursday, the Mississippi Supreme Court denied White's request to dismiss the civil action filed against him. 'The facts of this case have not changed and Auditor White will continue to defend himself from this ridiculous and frivolous lawsuit,' White's office said in a statement. In court filings, White argued that the 'continued litigation of this case not only threatens important First Amendment rights,' and that "[e]qually if not more worrisomely, it discourages public servants from doing their jobs.' Favre's lawsuit, filed in 2023, claims that White falsely accused the former Packers, Jet, and Vikings quarterback of stealing taxpayer money in both media appearances and in a book. Favre has strongly denied wrongdoing in connection with the Mississippi welfare scandal. He has never been criminally charged.
