A man sentenced to death in the 1988 killing of a Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputy could get a new trial after the United States Supreme Court declined to review a ruling from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Michael Sockwell, 63, was convicted in 1990 of shooting Isaiah Harris in the face. Investigators determined the killing was a murder-for-hire arranged by Harris’s wife. The wife was convicted of capital murder and was sentenced to death. Her sentence has been reduced to life in prison.
The lower Appeals Court ruled last year that prosecutors violated Sockwell’s rights by rejecting black people from the jury pool.
“We appreciate the Supreme Court’s decision. Michael has been denied his right to a fair trial for more than 35 years,” said Sockwell’s attorney, Michael Rayfield. “We’ll continue to fight for his freedom.”
Steps to a new trial must be taken by March 18, or Stockwell could be released from prison.
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