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9h ago

Curtis Flowers Dies at 56

The Supreme Court’s 2019 reversal found prosecutors excluded nearly all Black prospective jurors across six trials, a ruling that led to his release, compensation, plus a civil suit alleging misconduct.

FILE - Curtis Flowers, flanked by sister Priscilla Ward, right, exits the Winston Choctaw Regional Correctional Facility in Louisville, Miss., on Monday, Dec. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
FILE - Defendant Curtis Flowers, center, stands with his attorneys Henderson Hill, left, and Rob McDuff at his bail hearing in Winona, Miss., Monday, Dec. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
FILE - Curtis Flowers speaks with reporters as he exits the Winston-Choctaw Regional Correctional Facility in Louisville, Miss., Monday, Dec. 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)
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Overview

  • Flowers’ family and attorney Rob McDuff confirmed he died Wednesday at his home in Mississippi and no cause of death has been released.
  • He was tried six times for a 1996 quadruple killing by the same prosecutor, Doug Evans, and spent more than 22 years in custody including time on death row.
  • In 2019 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction and death sentence, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh writing that prosecutors had systematically removed Black prospective jurors.
  • Reporting by American Public Media’s “In the Dark” prompted witness recantations and highlighted that no murder weapon, DNA, or fingerprints linked Flowers to the killings.
  • After his release he was freed on bond in December 2019, charges were dropped in September 2020, a judge ordered $500,000 for wrongful imprisonment, and Flowers filed a 2021 civil suit accusing Evans and investigators of pressuring witnesses.