On July 16, 1996, Sam Jones walked into the Tardy Furniture store in Winona, Miss., to find four employees shot execution-style. Bertha Tardy, Carmen Rigby, Robert Golden and 16-year-old Derrick “Bobo” Stewart lay in pools of blood, each shot in the head. This horrific crime would lead to one of the most egregious miscarriages of justice in Mississippi history.
Curtis Flowers spent 23 years in prison, survived six trials and faced death row multiple times for these murders. His freedom came only after the podcast “In the Dark” revealed that the state’s star witness, Odell Hallmon, had fabricated his testimony about Flowers’ confession. The Attorney General’s office ultimately concluded that no key prosecution witness remained credible.
The contest between incumbent Justice Jim Kitchens and Senator Jenifer Branning represents more than a judicial race – it embodies the system that imprisoned Flowers for over two decades. Flowers, a 26-year-old gospel singer with no criminal record, maintained a spotless prison record throughout his ordeal.
The prosecution’s case against Flowers exemplifies what’s at stake in this election. District Attorney Doug Evans struck 41 of 42 qualified Black prospective jurors across all trials, leading to the U.S. Supreme Court’s intervention. Four convictions were overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct, while two trials ended in hung juries.
The “In the Dark” podcast team spent a year in Winona, reviewing 100,000 pages of legal documents and interviewing witnesses. Their investigation proved crucial—playing a recorded witness recantation in court that helped secure Flowers’ release. The state ultimately awarded him $500,000 in compensation over ten years.
On Nov. 26, 2024, voters in twenty-two central Mississippi counties decided whether to maintain a system that allowed such injustice or embrace reform. The Attorney General’s office’s dismissal of charges “with prejudice”—meaning Flowers can never be tried again—acknowledges how thoroughly the case collapsed under scrutiny.
The results of the Nov. 26 election are still being finalized.
For every Curtis Flowers who finds freedom, countless others await justice. Remember: the next wrongfully convicted Mississippian’s fate may depend on this choice. Sometimes justice arrives late, but only if we keep the courthouse doors open.
This MFP Voices essay does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an opinion for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and sources fact-checking the included information to voices@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.
