As of 05/20/2003

Series 2472: Death Penalty Cases. 1975-
Supreme Court (RG 32).

Cases appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court for which the final judgement was punishment by death. These cases are ones for which the case is considered closed for one of the following reasons:

  1. the defendant has been executed
  2. the defendant is deceased
  3. the defendant no longer has an outstanding death sentence

Typically a case file contains volumes of trial proceedings transcripts, various briefs (appellant, appellee, rebuttal, reply) and other related records (clerk.s folder with filings and motions, assignments of error statements, abstracts). Also included with each case is a photocopy of the Death Penalty Docket wherein the case is listed, and exhibits (often photographs, diagrams, police records and such). (Note: Some exhibits have been returned to the originating lower court, particularly for use in cases where the judgement was reversed and remanded.)

Death Penalty cases prior to 1975 were not handled separately from other Supreme Court cases and those which are in our holdings may be found in RG 32, Series 6 (Supreme Court Cases).