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Curtis Flowers, a Black man whose death sentence was tossed by Supreme Court, dies in Mississippi

Compiled Oct 8

Curtis Flowers, a Black man whose death sentence was tossed by Supreme Court, dies in Mississippi
Curtis Flowers, a Black man whose death sentence was tossed by Supreme Court, dies in Mississippi · Photo: The Associated Press
1

What happened

Curtis Flowers died Wednesday at his home in Mississippi at age 56

2

The detail

He spent more than 22 years in prison, including time on death row, before the U.S. Supreme Court threw out his conviction and death sentence

3

The detail

Flowers was tried six times for the July 1996 shooting deaths of four people inside a Winona, Mississippi furniture store

4

The detail

In 2019 the Supreme Court ruled 7-2, with Justice Kavanaugh writing that removal of Black prospective jurors deprived Flowers of a fair trial

5

How it unfolded

July 1996: Four people are shot and killed inside a Winona, Mississippi furniture store · months later: Curtis Flowers, then 26, is arrested in connection with the killings · 2010: During his sixth trial, Flowers is sentenced to death by a jury of 11 white jurors and one Black juror · 2019: The U.S. Supreme Court rules 7-2 to throw out Flowers' conviction and death sentence · December 2019: Flowers is released after a judge sets bond · September 2020: Mississippi drops all charges against Flowers

6

By the numbers

56 age at death · 22+ years in prison · 6 trials · 7-2 Supreme Court decision vote · $500,000 wrongful imprisonment payment

7

Still unresolved

No cause of death was given for Flowers' death

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