Divided Supreme Court Overturns State Death Row Conviction

The Supreme Court delivered a major ruling Thursday in favor of Terry Pitchford, a death row inmate in Mississippi.

The nation’s highest court held in a narrow 5-4 decision that he was denied a fair opportunity to challenge the prosecution’s removal of black jurors during his trial.

The ruling in Pitchford v. Cain vacates Pitchford’s capital murder conviction and death sentence, sending the case back to Mississippi and allowing prosecutors to pursue a new trial if they choose.