The Consequence-free Life of a Prosecutor

Earlier this month, Curtis Flowers sued the Mississippi district attorney who tried him six times for the same crime and illegally excluded Black people from serving on his juries.

Flowers was released from prison in December 2019, and his saga underscores the need for criminal justice reform across the country, particularly when it comes to winning justice for the wrongfully convicted – the majority of whom are Black. Flowers, like the more than 2,800 people in the U.S. who have been exonerated since 1989, had limited options. Under a Mississippi judge’s ruling, Flowers received $500,000, paid in installments of $50,000 each year for 10 years, as compensation for the 23 years he spent behind bars. State law prohibits payments higher than that.

Meanwhile prosecutor Doug Evans was found by the U.S. Supreme Court to have violated the Constitution, and several other courts ruled that he had committed prosecutorial misconduct in Flowers’ case. It made little difference. Evans remains district attorney, having won reelection in 2019.

It’s no coincidence Evans hasn’t faced consequences. Only 4% of prosecutors with involvement in wrongful conviction cases have faced consequences, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. That’s largely because the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that prosecutors can not be sued for their misconduct in a case (a protection called prosecutorial immunity). This includes prosecutors who knowingly elicit false testimony, withhold evidence or, in Flowers’ case, prevent people from becoming jurors because of their race.

Flowers’ attorney Rob McDuff told APM Reports, whose podcast catapulted the case into the national spotlight, that they are suing Evans for “his actions in an investigative capacity and also under state law for malicious prosecution.” The lawsuit also names three investigators who worked with Evans.

It remains to be seen whether the courts will hold Evans accountable, but it’s clear that his superiors won’t. Former Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood defended Evans’ actions as an “honest lawman.”

So with all of the barriers for the wrongfully convicted, what can be done to ensure they win some semblance of justice?

First, it’s vital that states reform their wrongful conviction compensation laws. There are currently 14 states that provide nothing for innocent people who were locked up because of the misdeeds of others. And while some states do provide payments, eligibility can be limited. Some require exoneration by DNA, and others have caps on how much a person can be paid. States should replace their one-size-fits-all compensation systems with individualized evaluations of how much people have lost as a result of their wrongful convictions.
Next, the courts must lift prosecutorial immunity and make prosecutors accountable for their actions. This would be achieved through legal challenges decided by the courts.
And finally, it is vital that the public and politicians learn from people who have been wrongfully convicted. District attorney and attorney general are elected positions. If prosecutors aren’t going to be held accountable by the courts, responsibility falls on voters to make sure that officials like Evans don’t have the opportunity to abuse their power again.