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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the summer
ruling from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The decision
paves the way for Michael Sockwell, 63, to receive a new trial.
“We appreciate the Supreme Court’s decision. Michael has been
denied his right to a fair trial for more than 35 years. We’ll
continue to fight for his freedom,” Michael Rayfield, one of
Sockwell’s lawyers, said in a statement.
Sockwell was convicted in 1990 of killing Montgomery County
Sheriff’s Deputy Isaiah Harris. Harris was shot in the face in
1988 on his way to work in what prosecutors described as a
murder-for-hire arranged by Harris’ wife.
The appellate court in June issued a 2-1 opinion finding Alabama
prosecutors violated Sockwell’s 14th Amendment rights by
intentionally rejecting potential Black jurors believed to be
more sympathetic to him.
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office sought a review of that
decision but the petition was rejected by the Supreme Court.
A federal judge in November said prosecutors must take steps by
March 18 to pursue a new trial or Sockwell should be released
from prison. A spokeswoman for the Montgomery County District
Attorney’s Office said Monday that the office intends to retry
the case but declined additional comment.
The jury that convicted Sockwell voted 7-5 to recommend that he
receive life imprisonment, but a judge overrode that
recommendation and handed down a death sentence. Alabama no
longer allow s judges to override a jury's sentence decision in
capital cases.
Harris' wife was convicted of capital murder; she was initially
sentenced to death but that was later reduced to life in prison.
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