TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Katharine Heriges on Jan 8, 2018
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a black Georgia death row inmate who was found guilty of kidnapping and murder in 1990 may be entitled to a certificate of appealability due to racist statements made by a juror during deliberations, the ABA Journal reports. Seven years after Keith Tharpe was sentenced to death, defense attorneys interviewed juror Barney Gattie. Among other inflammatory statements, Gattie said in a sworn affidavit that he wondered if “black people even have souls.” Tharpe petition to reopen his habeas petition last June.