Texas: Death Rows Inmate's Conviction Overturned

[janet]

The Supreme Court overturned the conviction of a black death row inmate who said Texas prosecutors unfairly stacked his jury with whites, issuing a harsh rebuke to the state that executes more people than any other.

The 6-3 ruling Monday ordered a new trial for Thomas Miller-El, who challenged his conviction for the 1985 murder of a 25 year-old Dallas motel clerk. It was the 2nd time justices reviewed the case after a lower court refused to reconsider Miller-el's claims.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans was wrong to reaffirm the conviction by a state court in light of the strong evidence of prejudice during jury selection, justices said.

The state court's conclusion that the prosecutors' strikes of people from the jury pool was "not racially determined is shown up as wrong to a clear and convincing degree; the state court's conclusion was unreasonable as well as erroneous," Justice David H. Souter wrote for the majority.

"At least 2 or the jury shuffles conducted by the state make no sense except as efforts to delay consideration of black jury panelists," Souter said, adding that it "blinks reality" to deny jurors were stuck because they were black.

(source: Associated Press)

This is a big step forward, since so often the jury is stacked against an accused belonging to a racial minority.

[damaris]

This is good news!!!!! I'm happy for him.

[raindrops]

I second that.

Things are moving in the right direction for this inmate and at least its not the execution gurney.

Here's hoping he walks free soon

[sclcookie]

Supreme Court shows flaws with death penalty


The U.S. Supreme Courts most recent ruling overturning a death-penalty
case in Texas shows 2 things.

First, the Supreme Court has no confidence that the Texas judicial system
can handle capital cases fairly.

Second, it has no confidence that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
can police these problems with fairness.

The court overturned the conviction of Thomas Miller-El. He was convicted
of a horrific crime in Dallas County.

Miller-Els guilt or innocence wasnt the question before the high court.
The question is whether Texas was able to give him a fair trial.

The courts message: You cant have justice if your system of putting people
on trial permits racial discrimination.

Miller-El is black. Eleven people in the pool of potential jurors were
black.

In a trial, each side is given a set number of peremptory challenges. That
means attorneys can challenge a prospective jurors ability to be fair
without giving a specific reason for striking him from the list.

Prosecutors used their peremptory challenges to strike 10 of the 11
prospective black jurors.

That might raise some red flags. It didnt in Texas judicial system.

To be fair, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals did look at Miller-Els
appeal. It suggested that the trial court might want to look at new U.S.
Supreme Court ruling. That ruling banned any practice of disqualifying
jurors that is racially discriminatory.

But the trial court in Dallas didnt see any problem.

Just before Miller-El was to be executed, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to
review his appeal again. It sent the case back to the 5th Circuit Court,
broadly hinting that there were problems with the case and that the
appellate court should find a way to clean up the mess.

The appellate court didnt take the hint.

So on Monday, the Supreme Court simply tossed out the conviction.

In the majority opinion, Justice David Souter said the judicial systems
argument that there just werent any problems with this case were just too
weak to believe.

For decades, he said, prosecutors in Dallas County "had followed a
specific policy of systematically excluding blacks from juries."

That, obviously, is a problem.

Equally obvious are the other problems that the Supreme Court has cited
with the death penalty in Texas in the past.

Is it the right to execute people with serious mental illnesses or with
mental retardation? How about kids who commit crimes before they are old
enough to drink?

For a long time, The Daily News has asked the governor to declare a
moratorium on the death penalty.

The state should give itself a chance to study the problems and address
them.

It shouldnt keep trying to defend a system when so many people, including
most justice on the Supreme Court, question its fairness.

(source: Galveston County Daily News)