From The Boston Globe · · 1m 20s
Curtis Flowers dies at 56 after wrongful conviction
Curtis Flowers, wrongfully convicted of 1996 murders, dies at 56 after 23 years in prison.
In brief
Curtis Flowers, wrongfully convicted of 1996 murders, dies at 56 after 23 years in prison. Curtis Flowers died at 56 after being wrongfully convicted in a Mississippi murder case that became a national symbol of racial bias in jury selection. Originally reported by The Boston Globe.
Curtis Flowers dies
Curtis Flowers, a Black man whose six trials in the same Mississippi murder case became a national symbol of racial bias in jury selection, died at home in Winona, Miss. He was 56.
Cause of death
His sister Priscilla Flowers-Ward said he had advanced diabetes and the family awaited an autopsy to identify the cause of death.
Release from prison
Flowers was transferred off death row in Parchman prison in December 2019 after nearly 23 years behind bars following the Supreme Court's ruling that Black people were unconstitutionally excluded from his jury.
Supreme Court ruling
In a 7-2 majority opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that Mississippi had pursued a 'relentless, determined effort to rid the jury of Black individuals.'
“Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that the state of Mississippi had pursued a 'relentless, determined effort to rid the jury of Black individuals.'”
Conviction details
Flowers was convicted in 1996 of killing four people at a furniture store where he had once worked in Winona, Mississippi.
Prosecutor's tactics
The white district attorney, Doug Evans, tried all six cases and ensured few or no Black residents were seated on juries across the half-dozen trials.
In short
Curtis Flowers died at 56 after being wrongfully convicted in a Mississippi murder case that became a national symbol of racial bias in jury selection.
