James Celerità

Curtis Flowers

Promotional image for "In the Dark," the American Public Media investigative podcast whose second season exposed the prosecutorial misconduct in Curtis Flowers' case.

Curtis Flowers at his bond hearing in December 2019, the day before he would walk free after more than 23 years of wrongful imprisonment.

The U.S. Supreme Court, where a 7–2 ruling in Flowers v. Mississippi on June 21, 2019 overturned Curtis Flowers' conviction and became a landmark Batson decision.

Curtis Flowers seated with his attorneys Henderson Hill and Rob McDuff at his December 2019 bond hearing in Winona, Mississippi, days before his release from prison.

Curtis Giovanni Flowers was born on May 29, 1970, in Winona, Mississippi, into a large, close-knit African American family rooted in Christian faith, community, and the joy of gospel music. The son of Archie and Lola Flowers, Curtis grew up alongside his brother Archie Jr. and sisters Priscilla, Charita, Cora, and Angela, dreaming of becoming a firefighter. What he could not have imagined was the extraordinary — and devastating — role history had in store for him.

On July 16, 1996, four people were killed at Tardy Furniture in Winona. Curtis, who had worked briefly at the store weeks earlier, became the primary suspect. Despite having no criminal record and maintaining his innocence, he was arrested and tried six separate times for the same crime — a distinction shared by only one other person in American history. His first three convictions were overturned by the Mississippi Supreme Court for prosecutorial misconduct and racial bias in jury selection. Two trials ended in hung juries. A sixth conviction, in 2010, sent him to death row at Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman, where he would spend more than two decades — never once receiving a disciplinary write-up, and never accepting a plea bargain.

His case reached a national audience when American Public Media's investigative podcast "In the Dark," hosted by Madeleine Baran, devoted its entire second season to examining the evidence against him. The investigation exposed that the state's key witness had fabricated his testimony, and that District Attorney Doug Evans had systematically removed Black jurors across all six trials. On June 21, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7–2 in Flowers v. Mississippi that his constitutional rights had been violated. Six months later, Curtis walked free.

On September 4, 2020, all charges were dropped with prejudice. He was awarded $500,000 under Mississippi's wrongful-incarceration law. Rather than retreating into bitterness, Curtis channeled his suffering into purpose — founding the Curtis Flowers Foundation to help others navigate the criminal justice system and to mentor young people drawn to law. He spoke at Duke Law School's Wilson Center for Science and Justice and was honored by the NFL's Inspire Change program. Those who knew him described him, without exception, as humble, graceful, and free of bitterness.

Curtis Giovanni Flowers passed away on October 7, 2026, at the age of 56. He leaves behind a daughter, Crystal Ghoston, and a family whose faith never wavered. His life stands as a testament to resilience, to the power of love over despair, and to the urgent, unfinished work of justice in America.

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Curtis Flowers

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