WASHINGTON — In a case that raised questions about racial bias in the criminal justice system, the Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the murder conviction of a Black death row inmate in Mississippi. He objected when prosecutors tried to exclude a potential black juror.
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The 5-4 verdict was a victory for Terry Pitchford, who was 18 at the time of the crime. He was convicted in 2004 of killing grocery store owner Ruben Britt during a robbery.
Pitchford’s accomplice, Eric Brin, fired the fatal shot but was not eligible for the death penalty because he was under 18. Blinn later pleaded guilty to manslaughter for his role in the murder.
The ruling reinstates a federal judge’s ruling that vacated Mr. Pitchford’s conviction on the grounds that his lawyers were not given the opportunity to pursue a line of questioning that suggested jury selection was illegally based on race.
Pitchford’s attorney said only one of the 12 jurors in the trial was black in a county that was 40 percent black.
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Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the majority, said defense attorneys “must at least be given an opportunity to argue that the alleged race-neutral reason is not the actual reason.”
In Pitchford’s case, “things went awry due to confusion, oversight, a rushed jury selection process, or other causes,” he added.
Prosecutors may seek a new trial for Mr. Pitchford.
During jury selection, prosecutors and defense attorneys can “punch” certain jurors without giving a reason, but District Attorney Doug Evans punched four black prospective jurors. Evans, who is white and is now out of office, has a history of such practices, according to an analysis by American Public Media.
In a notable 2019 decision, the Supreme Court threw out the murder conviction of Curtis Flowers, also a Black man, and found that Evans illegally blocked Black jurors from participating in that case as well.
Pitchford’s key underlying argument is that Evans’ oversight of racial discrimination in the jury selection process violates a 1986 Supreme Court decision called Batson v. Kentucky.
In upholding Pitchford’s conviction, the Mississippi Supreme Court said he waived his right to challenge the state’s argument that prosecutors had race-neutral reasons for rejecting black jurors. At the trial, the judge accepted the prosecution’s argument and immediately proceeded with the case.
Pitchford subsequently challenged the conviction in federal court, and a federal judge ruled in his favor in 2023.
But in a 2025 ruling, the New Orleans-based U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected his claims, prompting Pitchford to appeal to the Supreme Court.
In Thursday’s ruling, Mr. Kavanaugh was joined by fellow conservative Chief Justice John Roberts and the court’s three liberal members in the majority.
Four conservatives dissented, and Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote that the court overstepped its authority by ruling in favor of Pitchford, despite a federal law that limits the power of federal courts to grant relief to inmates in state prisons.
However, he added, “Even if the court’s decision is wrong, at least the impact will be limited.”
