Divided Supreme Court Overturns State Death Row Conviction

The Supreme Court delivered a major ruling Thursday in favor of Terry Pitchford, a death row inmate in Mississippi.

The ruling in Pitchford v. Cain vacates Pitchford’s capital murder conviction and death sentence, sending the case back to Mississippi and allowing prosecutors to pursue a new trial if they choose.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh authored the majority opinion, joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and the Court’s three liberal justices—Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson

The unusual coalition once again highlighted the increasingly unpredictable nature of Supreme Court alignments, particularly in criminal procedure and jury-selection cases.