The Supreme Court declined a bid from a Black man on death row in Texas for the murder of his estranged White wife and two children who argued he was convicted and sentenced to death by biased jurors who had expressed opposition to interracial marriage.
from a Black man on death row in Texas for the murder of his estranged White wife and two children who argued he was convicted and sentenced to death by biased jurors who had expressed opposition to interracial marriage.
The jury convicted Thomas for the killings and sentenced him to death. He then argued first in state court and then in federal court his trial counsel was ineffective because they failed to question jurors about their admitted racial biases or strike the biased jurors. Thomas also said seating the jurors opposed to interracial marriage violated his constitutional rights to trial by an impartial jury.
"By failing to challenge, or even question, jurors who were hostile to interracial marriage in a capital case involving that explosive topic, Thomas' counsel performed well below an objective standard of reasonableness," Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, wrote."This deficient performance prejudiced Thomas by depriving him of a fair trial."
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