The United States Supreme Court on Monday overturned the death sentence imposed on an African American man, finding bias in the all-white jury that convicted him of the 1986 murder of an elderly white woman.
The justices ruled in favour of Georgia death row inmate Timothy Foster by a vote of 7-1, with Justice Clarence Thomas, the court’s only African American member, dissenting. The decision, coming nearly 30 years after Foster’s death penalty conviction, highlighted the continuing effect of racism on jury selection in the United States.
Foster’s lawyers showed that prosecutors had maneuvered to keep blacks off the jury, presenting previously withheld prosecutor’s notes at a November 2015 Supreme Court hearing.
They included a list of prospective jurors that had the handwritten letter “B” next to the names of African Americans on the list.
Those designated with a “B” were rejected for the jury under a selection process that allows prosecutors to block a certain number of jurors.
Foster’s original defence lawyer told the court that the prosecutors drew up a list of six prospective jurors to be stricken from the panel: five were black, and one was opposed to the death penalty.