Woman’s Murder Conviction Reversed

The Mississippi Supreme Court is finally reversing the 2000 conviction of Michelle Byrom, who was found guilty in the murder of her husband and had been scheduled to be executed this month even though her son had confessed to the crime multiple times. Byrom, one of only two women in the state on death row, will now receive a new trial with a new judge. During the previous trial, her son had testified that she hired a hitman to kill his father, and his confession and other pieces of evidence were withheld. Justice Josiah Dennis Coleman said the high court's decision was "extraordinary and extremely rare in the context of a petition for leave."