Justice Sonia Sotomayor has sharply criticized the Mississippi Supreme Court for its handling of Tony Terrell Clark's case, a Black death row inmate. The court denied Clark's appeal, but Sotomayor pointed out a troubling double standard in the jury selection process. She noted that prosecutors removed Black jurors at a rate more than five times higher than that of white jurors, often targeting those who did not hold an extreme pro-death penalty stance. In her opinion, this reflects a systemic bias that undermines the integrity of the judicial process. Mississippi's legal framework places the burden on defendants to demonstrate that jurors were excluded based on race, a requirement Sotomayor argues skews trial outcomes. She emphasized that any racially discriminatory peremptory strike is unacceptable, echoing sentiments from the 2019 Flowers v. Mississippi ruling. This marks the second time Sotomayor has raised concerns about Clark's case since 2023, indicating her ongoing commitment to addressing racial disparities in the legal system.