Jackson v. State (Ex parte Jackson), 1190138

• Court: Supreme Court of Alabama
• Writing for the Court: MITCHELL, Justice (dissenting).
• Citation: 305 So.3d 506 (Mem)
• Docket Number: 1190138
• Decision Date: 28 February 2020
• Parties: EX PARTE Jamal O'Neal JACKSON (In re: Jamal O'Neal Jackson v. State of Alabama)

305 So.3d 506 (Mem)

EX PARTE Jamal O'Neal JACKSON

(In re: Jamal O'Neal Jackson
v.
State of Alabama)

1190138

Supreme Court of Alabama.

February 28, 2020

Angela L. Setzer and John W. Dalton, Equal Justice Initiative, Montgomery; and Glenn L. Davidson, Mobile, for petitioner.

Submitted on certiorari petition only.

SELLERS, Justice.

WRIT DENIED. NO OPINION.

Bolin, Shaw, Wise, Bryan, Mendheim, and Stewart, JJ., concur.

Parker, C.J., and Mitchell, J., dissent.

MITCHELL, Justice (dissenting).

305 So.3d 507

We are being asked in this petition for certiorari review to allow briefing on several issues related to Jamal O'Neal Jackson's capital-murder conviction and death sentence.¹ I believe that briefing is warranted with respect to only one issue, which is presented in Part IV of Jackson's petition.

In Miller-El v. Dretke, 545 U.S. 231, 125 S.Ct. 2317, 162 L.Ed.2d 196 (2005), the United States Supreme Court granted relief to a petitioner who claimed that the State violated Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986), in his capital trial by using its peremptory strikes to remove black veniremembers based on their race. Among the evidence supporting a finding of discrimination in that case was the fact that "[o]nly 6% of white venire panelists, but 53% of those who were black," were questioned about their feelings on the death penalty using the so-called "graphic script," which described the method of execution in rhetorical and clinical detail, as opposed to the more generic description used with other veniremembers that omitted such details. 545 U.S. at 256, 125 S.Ct. at 2334. The United States Supreme Court provided this example of the graphic script used by the prosecution in Miller-El:

"I feel like you have a right to know right up front what our position is. Mr. Kinne, Mr. Macaluso and myself, representing the people of Dallas County and the state of Texas, are actively seeking the death penalty for Thomas Joe Miller–El ....

"We do that with the

...