Charges dropped against Curtis Flowers, a black man tried 6 times for the same crime by a white prosecutor.
The Mississippi Attorney General's Office is dropping its case against Curtis Flowers, a Black man who was tried six times for the same crime by a white prosecutor (Doug Evans) Flowers, accused of killing four people at a furniture store in Winona in 1996, has maintained his innocence for more than two decades as his case went through an unprecedented number of trials, the most in modern U.S. history.
The prosecutor, Fifth Circuit District Attorney Doug Evans, tried Flowers multiple times as he failed to convince the juries of Flowers' guilt and failed to make convictions stick. Two trials ended in hung juries and four convictions were overturned because higher courts found evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.
In June 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Flowers' most recent conviction in 2010 after finding that Evans deliberately worked to prevent prospective Black jurors from serving during jury selection.
In December, Flowers was allowed to walk free on bond and return to his family for the first time in two decades as they waited to see if he would face trial a seventh time. “The case against Curtis Flowers never made sense,” said Flowers’ attorney, Rob McDuff of the Mississippi Center for Justice. “He was 26 years old with no criminal record and nothing in his history to suggest he would commit a crime like this.
As time went by, even more evidence emerged to corroborate his innocence. This prosecution was flawed from the beginning and was tainted throughout by racial discrimination. It should never have occurred and lasted far too long, but we are glad it is finally over.”