Curtis Flowers, tried six times over 1996 Mississippi killings, dies at 56
In short
Curtis Flowers, a Black man who spent more than 22 years in prison and was on death row in Mississippi before the U.S. Supreme Court threw out his conviction and death sentence, has died at 56, attorney Rob McDuff said. His family confirmed he died on Wednesday at his home; no cause of death was given. Flowers was tried six times over the 1996 killings of four people in a Winona furniture store, and Mississippi dropped the charges in September 2020.
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Curtis Flowers, a Black man who spent more than 22 years in prison and was on death row in Mississippi before the U.S. Supreme Court threw out his conviction and death sentence, has died at 56. His family confirmed that he died on Wednesday at his home in Mississippi, attorney Rob McDuff, who was part of Flowers' legal team, told The Associated Press; CBS News reported the home was in Winona. McDuff said no cause of death was given, and CBS News said it had reached out to the coroner. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Flowers was 26 when he was arrested several months after the July 1996 shooting deaths of four people inside a furniture store in Winona, the AP reported. CBS News identified the store as Tardy Furniture and said the owner, a bookkeeper, a delivery man and a 16-year-old were shot in the head; it said Flowers was arrested in Texas in January 1997 and had no prior criminal history. Prosecutors described him as a disgruntled former employee who sought revenge against the owner because she fired him and withheld most of his pay to cover the cost of merchandise he damaged. Nearly $300 was found missing after the killings. CBS News reported that he had briefly worked at the store and was let go after he stopped showing up after three days. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Flowers was tried six times for the killings by the same prosecutor, District Attorney Doug Evans. According to CBS News, an all-White jury convicted him in the first trial after an hour of deliberation and he was sentenced to death; three more convictions were overturned on appeal and two trials ended in mistrials. During the sixth trial in 2010, Flowers was sentenced to death; there were 11 white jurors and one Black juror who considered the case after Evans struck five Black prospective jurors. CBS News reported that the murder weapon was never found and that no DNA or fingerprints linked Flowers to the crime. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the Supreme Court's 7-2 decision in 2019 that the removal of Black prospective jurors deprived Flowers of a fair trial. Flowers remained in prison for six months after the ruling because he was still under indictment, and was released in December 2019 after a judge set bond. Mississippi dropped the charges in September 2020. CBS News reported that reporters at American Public Media's podcast "In the Dark" had looked into the case. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
"Today, I am finally free from the injustice that left me locked in a box for nearly twenty three years," Flowers said in a statement. His legal team, which represented him for more than two decades, said in a statement on Thursday that each member feels "privileged to have called him a client." McDuff previously called the case "unprecedented in the history of the American legal system," CBS News reported. The New York Times wrote that the case became a symbol of racial bias, saying the white district attorney always ensured few or no Black people were on the juries. [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]
Why it matters
The Supreme Court's 7-2 ruling in 2019 held that the removal of Black prospective jurors deprived Flowers of a fair trial, and The New York Times wrote that his case became a symbol of racial bias. McDuff has called the case "unprecedented in the history of the American legal system."
Key facts
- Curtis Flowers died at age 56; his family confirmed he died on Wednesday at his home in Mississippi, attorney Rob McDuff said. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- McDuff said no cause of death was given. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Flowers spent more than 22 years in prison and was on death row before the U.S. Supreme Court threw out his conviction and death sentence. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- He was tried six times over the July 1996 shooting deaths of four people inside a furniture store in Winona, Mississippi. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- In a 7-2 decision in 2019, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that the removal of Black prospective jurors deprived Flowers of a fair trial. [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
- Flowers was released in December 2019 after a judge set bond, and Mississippi dropped the charges in September 2020. [ 2 , 4 , 5 , 7 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The cause of Flowers' death. McDuff said no cause of death was given; CBS News said it had reached out to the coroner.
- How Flowers' employment at the furniture store ended. Prosecutors described him as fired by the owner, who withheld most of his pay; CBS News reported he was let go after he stopped showing up after three days.
- The Supreme Court's 7-2 decision in 2019 found the removal of Black prospective jurors deprived Flowers of a fair trial. Reported by a single source so far
- Mississippi dropped charges against Flowers in September 2020. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- The Associated Press reports Flowers' death, citing attorney Rob McDuff. [ 1 ]
- CBS News reports McDuff told it Flowers died at his home in Winona. [ 3 ]
- The New York Times publishes an obituary saying his case became a symbol of racial bias. [ 6 ]
- The Guardian US carries the report on Flowers' death. [ 7 ]