Time is Ticking: Alabama Death Row Inmate Either Gets New Trial Or Gets Out

One of Alabama’s longest serving death row inmates is waiting to hear from prosecutors, after a court ordered them to pursue a new trial for 63-year-old Michael Sockwell, or he will be released. Sockwell was convicted for the 1988 murder of a sheriff’s deputy, but a court has determined the prosecutor who seated his jury, “repeatedly and purposefully” rejected qualified black jurors.

The court set a deadline of March 18th, and because the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Alabama’s appeal, prosecutors have until next week to make a move.

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