17 November 2017 :

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that Justin Blakeney, 33, White, must have a new trial. The court ruled that Blakeney’s right to present a complete defense was violated by prosecutorial misconduct and the improper admission of evidence and testimony from informants who had been working as State agents. The Mississippi Supreme Court overturned a 2014 death penalty conviction, saying prosecutors sandbagged the defendant by introducing last-minute evidence, using jailhouse informants to elicit information when the suspect's lawyer should have represented him and throwing away evidence that could have helped the defense. "Because Blakeney was denied an opportunity to present a complete defense, because testimony and evidence from witnesses working as state agents was allowed, and because of prosecutorial misconduct, we now reverse Blakeney's conviction and sentence and remand his case for a new trial on the merits," Justice Leslie King wrote for the court. Blakeney, 33, White, was sentenced to death on July 11, 2014 (see) for the August 2010 death of Victoria Viner, 2, his girlfriend’s daughter.