A Mississippi man facing the death penalty has lost his most recent appeal, despite claims that a juror in his trial was biased against him.
Caleb Corrothers, 39, was convicted of shooting and killing Frank and Taylor Clark during a drug deal in 2009. He also shot and severely wounded Frank's wife, Tanya, and was convicted of aggravated assault in that shooting, The Oxford Eagle reported.
Corrothers received the death penalty for the two murders but has challenged the sentence. Corrothers alleged in an appeal that his surviving victim communicated with a juror during his trial, the newspaper reported.
His attorneys presented his mother and cousin as witnesses at a 2023 hearing. The pair claimed to have seen a "juror mouth 'We got it' to Clark as the jury returned to the courtroom after unanimously voting to sentence Corrothers to death," the appeal states. "But the trial judge did not believe the two witnesses. He determined they were not credible, given their personal interest in Corrothers's case."
The appeal went to the state supreme court, which agreed with the trial judge in December 2024, The Oxford Eagle reported. Corrothers, through his attorneys, then appealed again in February 2025, and the decision was affirmed clearing the way for the death penalty.
