Alabama man, on death row since 1990, to get new trial

MONTGOMERY, Ala, (AP) — One of Alabama’s longest-serving death row inmates could soon receive a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the state’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling that prosecutors violated his rights by intentionally rejecting potential Black jurors.

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 allows 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.