Supreme Court backs Mississippi death row inmate’s jury claim (opens in new tab)

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Thursday for Terry Pitchford, a Black Mississippi death row inmate who argued that racial discrimination affected jury selection before his capital murder trial. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion in Pitchford v. Cain, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberal justices; Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett dissented. Pitchford was 18 when he and Eric Bullins, then 16, were involved in a ...