Death Row Inmate Wins New Trial

Earl McGahee was convicted for the 1985 murder of his ex-wife and a nursing student. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled African-Americans should not have been excluded from the jury.

By: Jamie Burch | WKRG-TV
Published: March 04, 2009

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ATLANTA (AP) - An Alabama death-row inmate convicted of killing
his ex-wife and another nursing student in 1985 has won the right
to a new trial.
Citing what it called an "astonishing pattern" of excluding
blacks from his jury, a federal appeals panel found Wednesday that
state courts had unreasonably applied established federal law in
the case of Earl Jerome McGahee.
McGahee, who is black, was convicted in Dallas County Circuit
Court for the 1985 killing of his ex-wife, Connie Brown, and
Cassandra Lee, a student at George C. Wallace Junior College in
Selma.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel noted "the total
exclusion of African-Americans in this county in which they
comprised 55 percent and the strong evidence of race-based decision
making" in choosing a jury.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)