US supreme court appears skeptical of jury process in racial bias death row case

Case involves a former prosecutor removing nearly all Black jurors in a 2006 capital murder trial, raising legal questions

The US supreme court appeared skeptical on Tuesday of whether jury selection in a trial was conducted appropriately when they heard oral arguments in a death penalty case about racial bias in jury selection stemming from Mississippi.

Doug Evans, a now-retired prosecutor, removed all but one Black person from a jury that convicted Terry Pitchford of capital murder in 2006. The judge, Joseph Loper, allowed the juror strikes, despite objections from the defense counsel, and Mississippi's supreme court upheld the conviction.