Curtis Flowers, death row inmate freed by Supreme Court, dies

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 8 Oct, 18:55 · Archive

Curtis Flowers, a Black man released after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his death sentence over jury bias concerns, has died at 56.

Curtis Flowers, a Black man who spent more than 22 years in prison on death row in Mississippi before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction and death sentence in 2019, has died at 56. His family confirmed he died Wednesday at his home in Mississippi. No cause of death was given.

Flowers was arrested in 1996, several months after four people were shot dead inside a Winona, Mississippi, furniture store. Prosecutors alleged he was a disgruntled former employee seeking revenge against the store's owner who fired him. Nearly $300 was found missing after the killings. Flowers was tried in the case six times.

During his sixth trial in 2010, he was sentenced to death. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the Supreme Court's 7-2 decision that the removal of Black prospective jurors deprived Flowers of a fair trial. District Attorney Doug Evans had struck five Black prospective jurors, leaving 11 white jurors and one Black juror to consider the case.

Flowers remained in prison for six months after the Supreme Court ruling whilst still under indictment. A judge set bond and he was released in December 2019. Mississippi dropped all charges against him in September 2020.

How it is being reported

• Curtis Flowers, a Black man whose death sentence was tossed by Supreme Court, dies in MississippiCurtis Flowers, a Black man who spent more than 22 years in prison and was on death row in Mississippi before the U.S. Supreme Court threw out his conviction and death sentence, has died.News4Jax · 8 Oct, 18:05
• Curtis Flowers, a Black man whose death sentence was tossed by Supreme Court, dies in MississippiCurtis Flowers, a Black man who spent more than 22 years in prison and was on death row in Mississippi before the U.S. Supreme Court threw out his conviction and death sentence, has died.Clickorlando · 8 Oct, 18:05

In this story: Curtis Flowers · U.S. Supreme Court · Mississippi · Brett Kavanaugh · Doug Evans · Winona

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