Supreme Court OKs review of Texas death row case

Jet, March 17, 2003

In a ruling that centered on a defendant's constitutional rights in the criminal justice system, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that death row inmate Thomas Miller-El, 51, deserves a new chance to press his claim that prosecutors stacked his jury with Whites and death penalty supporters.

Miller-El was slated for execution in Texas in less than a week. In the high court's 8 to 1, decision, it ruled that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit should have granted Miller-El a hearing on his claim Dallas County prosecutors violated his rights to a discrimination-free trial by excluding 10 out of 11 Blacks eligible to serve on the jury (JET, March 11, 2002).

"In this case, the statistical evidence alone raises some debate as to whether the prosecution acted with a race-based reason when striking prospective jurors," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the opinion for the court.

Only Justice Clarence Thomas dissented from the ruling, saying Miller-El "has not presented anything remotely resembling `clear and convincing" evidence of purposeful discrimination."

In 1985, a jury composed of nine Whites, a Filipino, a Hispanic and a Black found Miller-El guilty of capital murder for the slaying of a Holiday Inn employee.

The Constitution forbids race discrimination injury selection, but until 1986 defendants faced high legal hurdles when trying to prove discrimination affected their case. The Supreme Court lowered the standard in a ruling that year.