Supreme Court Vacates Death Row Ruling; Thomas Blasts Aid To Inmate
On June 1, 2026, the Supreme Court overturned an 11th Circuit ruling and sent relief back for Florida death-row inmate Gary Richard Whitton, finding the appeals court improperly relied on post-trial DNA evidence.[1]
The unsigned per curiam opinion said the 11th Circuit should not have used DNA testing developed after Whitton's 1990 murder trial to assess the impact of false jailhouse informant testimony the jury heard.[1] Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, dissented and criticized the Court for intervening on Whitton's behalf.[1]
Whitton was tried in 1990 and the jury heard testimony from a jailhouse informant. Subsequent DNA testing developed after that trial played a central role in the appeals court's analysis before the Supreme Court stepped in.[1]
The ruling sends the case back to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reassess whether the informant testimony, considered without the later DNA evidence, requires relief for Whitton.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On June 1, 2026, the Supreme Court issued an unsigned per curiam opinion vacating the 11th Circuit's decision denying relief to Florida death row inmate Gary Richard Whitton.
- The Court held it was improper for the 11th Circuit to rely on post-trial DNA evidence, developed after Whitton's 1990 murder trial, when assessing the impact of false jailhouse informant testimony the jury heard.
- Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, dissented, saying the Court gives "short shrift" to law-abiding Americans while intervening for a convicted murderer and suggesting the appeals court could reissue a nearly identical opinion without the offending DNA discussion.
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