USA - Alabama. The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed its 2011 decision granting Jason Sharp, 34, white, a new trial

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals reversed its 2011 decision granting Jason Sharp, 34, white, a new trial on the grounds that prosecutors improperly kept black citizens from the jury. Sharp was convicted in 2006 (see August 29 and September 14, 2006) for the January 1999 rape and murder of Tracy Lynn Morris and remains under a death sentence. In their appeal, Sharp's lawyers raised a "Batson challenge," named after a 1986 U.S. Supreme Court decision that aimed to ensure jurors are not barred from service because of race. Neither Sharp or the victim are black. The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals ruled in February 2011 that 2 black jurors were improperly struck and that Sharp should receive a new trial. The Alabama Attorney General's Office asked the court to rehear the case. The court reversed its earlier opinion 3-2 after taking a second look at the prosecution's reasoning for striking the black potential jurors.