Attorney General Lynn Fitch on Friday dropped charges against Curtis Flowers, a Black man from Winona who had been tried from murder in six trials over 24 years.
In his most recent trial, Flowers was convicted for the 1996 killings of four people and sentenced to death. His lawyers appealed the conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in 2019 that the Montgomery County District Attorney Doug Evans unconstitutionally kept Black people from serving on the jury.
Over Flowers’ six trials, 61 of the 72 jurors were white.
“Today, I am finally free,” Flowers said in a statement to The New York Times.
Flowers had been out of prison on bail since December 2019 as the case was being appealed. His case was featured on the popular podcast “In the Dark.”
“This is a monumental victory,” said Vangela M. Wade, president and CEO of the Mississippi Center for Justice, which was among the organizations defending Flowers. “Over the past year, the Mississippi Center for Justice represented Curtis Flowers and helped to bring about a favorable conclusion of this tragic case. Today the burden of further injustice has been lifted from Mr. Flowers, but fair treatment in our criminal justice system should never require the extraordinary resources behind this long-delayed outcome.”
Editor’s note: Vangela M. Wade is a member of Mississippi Today’s board of directors.
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