Supreme Court rules in favor of death row inmate in discrimination case

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of death row inmate Timothy Tyrone Foster on Monday in a case concerning racial discrimination in the jury selection process. Foster, a black man, is on death row in Georgia for the 1987 murder of an elderly white woman. An all-white jury convicted him after prosecutors unconstitutionally blocked African-American jurors from the trial.

The 7-1 verdict, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, reverses Foster's conviction. "The focus on race in the prosecution's file plainly demonstrates a concerted effort to keep black prospective jurors off the jury," Roberts wrote.

The court's lone black member, Justice Clarence Thomas, was the only voice of dissent. "Foster's new evidence does not justify this court's reassessment of who was telling the truth nearly three decades removed from voir dire," he said.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The ruling will likely bolster arguments against the death penalty, which opponents claim is racially discriminatory, as unconstitutional practices have persisted even 30 years after the Supreme Court's ruling against such tactics in the jury selection process.