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Thomas speaks as U.S. high court weighs death row inmate's race claim
Source: Reuters
U.S. MARCH 20, 2019 / 11:32 AM / UPDATED 9 MINUTES AGO
Thomas speaks as U.S. high court weighs death row inmate's race claim
Lawrence Hurley
4 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared likely to rule in favor of a black Mississippi death row inmate who has been put on trial six times for a 1996 quadruple murder and has accused the lead prosecutor of repeatedly removing black jurors to help secure a conviction.
The argument in the case involving Curtis Flowers, 48, included the first questions asked from the bench by Justice Clarence Thomas, the court’s only black member, in three years.
The Flowers case marked the latest dispute to reach the justices over allegations of racial bias in an American criminal justice system in which blacks and other minorities are disproportionately represented in prison populations. Some prosecutors, including in Southern states like Mississippi, have been accused over the decades of trying to ensure predominately white juries for trials of black defendants.
Under a 1986 Supreme Court precedent, people cannot be excluded from serving on a jury because of their race based on the right to a fair trial under the U.S. Constitution’s Sixth Amendment and the 14th Amendment promise of equal protection under the law.
Thomas asked several questions toward the end of the argument. The last question Thomas asked came in a February 2016 gun rights case from Maine, as he voiced concern that people convicted of domestic-violence misdemeanors could permanently lose the right to own a firearm.
-snip-
Thomas speaks as U.S. high court weighs death row inmate's race claim
Lawrence Hurley
4 MIN READ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday appeared likely to rule in favor of a black Mississippi death row inmate who has been put on trial six times for a 1996 quadruple murder and has accused the lead prosecutor of repeatedly removing black jurors to help secure a conviction.
The argument in the case involving Curtis Flowers, 48, included the first questions asked from the bench by Justice Clarence Thomas, the court’s only black member, in three years.
The Flowers case marked the latest dispute to reach the justices over allegations of racial bias in an American criminal justice system in which blacks and other minorities are disproportionately represented in prison populations. Some prosecutors, including in Southern states like Mississippi, have been accused over the decades of trying to ensure predominately white juries for trials of black defendants.
Under a 1986 Supreme Court precedent, people cannot be excluded from serving on a jury because of their race based on the right to a fair trial under the U.S. Constitution’s Sixth Amendment and the 14th Amendment promise of equal protection under the law.
Thomas asked several questions toward the end of the argument. The last question Thomas asked came in a February 2016 gun rights case from Maine, as he voiced concern that people convicted of domestic-violence misdemeanors could permanently lose the right to own a firearm.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-race/thomas-speaks-as-u-s-high-court-weighs-death-row-inmates-race-claim-idUSKCN1R11XY
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