Death row inmate: Jury selection unfair

The Clarion-Ledger, 7/14/8

A federal appeals court should throw out Paul Woodward’s death sentence because prosecutors plotted to keep blacks off a Jackson County jury, according to Woodward’s attorneys.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled a hearing on the issue for Sept. 3 in New Orleans. The panel did not rule on any specific claims.

Woodward, now 60, was convicted in 1987 of capital murder and sentenced to death in the killing of Rhonda Crane. Crane was a volunteer worker at the Jackson County Youth Court.