Mississippi judge dismisses charges against man tried 6 times for slayings

Curtis Flowers spend 23 years in prison for the slayings of four people, charges for which have been dropped. File Photo courtesy Mississippi Department of Corrections

Sept. 4 (UPI) -- A Mississippi judge on Friday dropped charges against a man tried six times for the deaths of four people nearly a quarter century ago.

Curtis Flowers, 50, spent nearly 23 years in prison for the slayings at a furniture store in Winona, Miss. He was released on bail in December ahead of what was expected to be his seventh trial.

"Today, I am finally free from the injustice that left me locked in a box for nearly 23 years," Flowers said in a statement. "I've been asked if I ever thought this day would come. I have been blessed with a family that never gave up on me and with them by my side, I knew it would."

District Attorney Doug Evans, lead prosecutor in his first six cases -- two of which resulted in hung juries and the rest overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct -- recused himself from the case in January. The case was transferred to the Mississippi attorney general's office

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Attorney General Lynn Fitch filed a motion to dismiss the charges after reviewing the case, saying there was no one alive who could testify today without previous conflicting statements on the record.

"As the court noted at the bail review hearing, the only witness who offered direct evidence of guilt recanted his prior testimony, admitting that he was lying when he said Mr. Flowers made a jailhouse confession to the murders," the motion read.

She said there were also multiple alternative suspects who had violent criminal histories as well as other evidence not considered.

"The case against Curtis Flowers never made sense," said Flowers' attorney, Rob McDuff of the Mississippi Center for Justice. "He was 26 years old with no criminal record and nothing in his history to suggest he would commit a crime like this.

"As time went by, even more evidence emerged to corroborate his innocence. This prosecution was flawed from the beginning and was tainted throughout by racial discrimination. It should never have occurred and lasted far too long, but we are glad it is finally over."

Bertha Tardy, the owner of Tardy Furniture, and three employees, Robert Golden, Carmen Rigby and Derrick "Bobo" Stewart, were found dead at the store July 16, 1996. Flowers became a suspect after police learned he had been fired from the store two weeks earlier


The Case Against Curtis Flowers, Who Spent 23 Years In Prison For Murder And Had 4 Convictions Overturned, Has Been Dropped

"I've been asked if I ever thought this day would come," Flowers said in a statement. "I have been blessed with a family that never gave up on me and with them by my side, I knew it would."

Salvador HernandezBuzzFeed News Reporter
Posted on September 4, 2020

Rogelio V. Solis / AP

Prosecutors have dropped their case against Curtis Flowers, a Black man who has been tried six times for the shooting and killing of four people in a furniture store in 1996 and spent 23 years in prison — most of it on death row — for the crime.

Flowers was released from prison on bail last year after the US Supreme Court reversed his latest conviction. His case drew media attention after the popular podcast In the Dark featured Flowers' case and his six trials for the same crime.


"This is a monumental victory," Vangela M. Wade, president of the Mississippi Center for Justice, said in a statement. The center helped litigate Flowers' case, free him on bail, and dismiss the charges. "Today the burden of further injustice has been lifted from Mr. Flowers, but fair treatment in our criminal justice system should never require extraordinary resources behind this long-delayed outcome."

Flowers maintained he was innocent during six trials, which included four convictions that were overturned because of prosecutorial misconduct. The two other cases resulted in hung juries.

The Clarion Ledger reported his most recent conviction in 2010 was overturned in June 2019 after a court found that District Attorney Doug Evans had deliberately worked to keep Black jurors from serving on the jury.



In the Dark@InTheDarkAPM

Curtis Flowers was allowed to remove his ankle monitor Friday afternoon after the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office dropped all charges against him. Read the story: https://t.co/qAMqu5ER3a11:10 PM - 04 Sep 2020
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Flowers was freed from prison in December after his attorneys filed a motion for bail and asked for his charges to be dismissed and the prosecutor to recuse himself from the case.

The judge at the time of the bail hearing noted reporting that was featured in the podcast In the Dark, including two state witnesses who said they lied during the Flowers' trial. The judge also noted the possibility of evidence that pointed to another possible suspect in the killings.

Evans withdrew in January from the case and the Mississippi Attorney General's office was appointed to prosecute the case instead.

The Mississippi Center of Justice said in a statement that the Attorney General's office conducted a monthslong review of the case, then filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Flowers.

"Today I am finally free from the injustice that left me locked in a box for nearly 23 years," Flowers told the Clarion-Ledger in a statement. "I've been asked if I ever thought this day would come. I have been blessed with a family that never gave up on me and with them by my side, I knew it would."


Salvador Hernandez is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Los Angeles.