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USA - Terry Pitchford (MS)
USA - Terry Pitchford (MS)
USA - Mississippi. Conviction of Terry Pitchford overturned

December 12, 2023:

December 12, 2023 - Conviction of Terry Pitchford overturned
On December 12, 2023 U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills overturned Terry Pitchford’s death sentence and ordered Mississippi to retry him in 6 months or release him from custody. Judge Mills found that the original trial judge failed to allow the defense to properly challenge the exclusion of Black jurors by now-retired District Attorney Doug Evans, the same prosecutor who prosecuted Curtis Flowers. “This court cannot ignore the notion that Pitchford was seemingly given no chance to rebut the state’s explanations and prove purposeful discrimination,” Judge Mills wrote.
Mr. Pitchford was the youngest prisoner on Mississippi’s death row when he was sentenced to death for killing grocery store owner Reuben Britt at just 18 years old. At his trial, a jury pool of 126 people was initially summoned (40 Black, 84 white, one Hispanic, and one unknown). The trial judge first dismissed jurors for statutory causes and other reasons unrelated to the case, leaving 96 potential jurors (35 Black and 61 white). Following voir dire, the judge dismissed another 52 jurors for cause, including 30 Black jurors for their views on the death penalty, resulting in a pool of 41 potential jurors (36 white and five Black). The State used seven preemptory strikes and excluded four Black jurors for reasons deemed “race-neutral” by the trial judge, who didn’t allow the defense to challenge any of the claims. 
Batson v. Kentucky (1986) held that it is unconstitutional to exclude jurors based on their race. A defendant who wishes to challenge the prosecution’s use of peremptory strikes to exclude Black jurors may object and require the prosecution to state a race-neutral reason for the strikes. The defense then must have an opportunity to rebut the reason and prove intentional discrimination. In Mr. Pitchford’s case, the trial court denied the defense that opportunity.  
In his order, Judge Mills said his finding was influenced by District Attorney Evans’ history of excluding Black jurors. In Curtis Flowers’ case, Evans prosecuted Mr. Flowers six times and illegally excluded Black jurors in several of those proceedings. Mr. Flowers’ conviction was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019. In Flowers v. Mississippi, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote “[t]he State’s relentless, determined effort to rid the jury of black individuals strongly suggests that the State wanted to try Flowers before a jury with as few black jurors as possible, and ideally before an all-white jury.” In considering Mr. Pitchford’s appeal, Judge Mills found that the Mississippi Supreme Court should have taken this history into consideration, writing “The court merely believes that it should have been included in a ‘totality of the circumstances’ analysis of the issue.”

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/batson-relief-for-another-mississippi-prisoner-prosecuted-by-doug-evans
https://cdispatch.com/news/judge-overturns-mississippi-death-penalty-case-says-racial-bias-in-picking-jury-wasnt-fully-argued/

(Source: DPIC, 12/12/2023)

IRAN - Execution Of Alleged Mossad Agent (not identified)
USA - Texas. Texas still leads nation in executions, but the pace is much slower now
IRAN - Davoud Brahui (Brahooie) executed in Qom on December 15
IRAN - Mosafer Zargar executed in Mashhad on December 14
IRAN - Khairullah Nahtani executed in Zahedan on December 14
USA - Alabama. Lawsuit against the execution of Kenneth Smith under the new nitrogen hypoxia system
IRAN - Three men recently executed in Shiraz
IRAN - Khalil Majedi executed in Ahvaz on December 13
IRAN - Mohammadreza Habibian Executed in Babol on December 13
IRAN - Abid (Obaid) Mahmoudi executed in Kermanshah on December 13
IRAN - Hamid Bakshayesh executed in Karaj on December 13
IRAN - Vahid Haji Pour executed in Isfahan on December 13
MALAYSIA: DEATH SENTENCE COMMUTED, WORKER GETS 33 YEARS FOR KILLING FOREMAN
IRAN - Sajad Haghizadeh executed in Khorramabad on December 12
IRAN - The European Parliament officially awarded the Sakharov prize to Mahsa Amini
IRAN - Ali Bababyi executed in Shirvan on December 12
IRAN - Bahram Seyed Zadeh executed in Qom on December 12
IRAN - Abolfazl Abdolmaleki executed in Qom on December 12
IRAN - 5 men executed in Karaj on December 12
IRAN - Ali Babaei executed in Shirvan on December 12
IRAN - Davoud Khademi executed in Sanandaj on 12 December
MOTHER OF NURSE FACING EXECUTION IN YEMEN TOLD TO EXPLAIN ‘BLOOD MONEY’
IRAN - Amin Jokar executed in Shiraz on December 11
NIGERIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN ZAMFARA FOR KILLING FRIEND OVER N100
JAPAN: EX-COP'S APPEAL OVER MURDER OF FAMILY DISMISSED, DEATH PENALTY UPHELD
IRAN - Mahsa Amini's Family Decries Travel Ban on Eve of Human Rights Award Ceremony
NIGERIA: FOUR SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER MOTORCYCLE THEFT IN EKITI
IRAN - (Norway) Narges Mohammadi's children collect the Nobel in place of their mother, detained in Iran
IRAN - Swede Johan Floderus faces charges in Iran of spying for Israel
IRAN - Mehdi Nasiri and Abbas Ketabi executed in Qom on December 9

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