Curtis Flowers, wrongfully convicted man once on death row, dies at 56

One of Curtis Flowers’ attorneys called his case “unprecedented in the history of the American legal system.”

Curtis Flowers, a Black man from Mississippi who was wrongfully convicted multiple times when he was tried six times for the same crime by the same prosecutor, has died. He was 56.Flowers' family confirmed that he died Wednesday at his home in Winona, Mississippi, attorney Rob McDuff told CBS News on Thursday.No cause of death was given, said McDuff, who was part of Flowers' legal team. CBS News has reached out to the coroner.Flowers' struggle with the justice system began in Winona, Mississippi, on a July morning in 1996, when the owner of Tardy Furniture, a bookkeeper, a delivery man and a 16-year-old were shot in the head execution-style.Flowers briefly worked at the furniture store that summer, but he was let go after he stopped showing up after only three days.

Police questioned him after the murders, but didn't arrest him at the time. Flowers later moved to Texas to live with his sister, and he was arrested there in January 1997. He had no prior criminal history.McDuff previously called Flowers' case "unprecedented in the history of the American legal system."He told "60 Minutes" in 2021 that the first three convictions against Flowers were overturned "because of the prosecutor's misrepresentation of the evidence to the jury and because of his discrimination in the selection of the jury."The murder weapon was