Supreme Court Reinstates Ruling Ordering Retrial of Death Row Prisoner

The 11th Circuit previously held that prosecutors violated Alabama inmate Michael Sockwell’s constitutional rights.

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Oct. 6, 2025. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

The Supreme Court on Oct. 8 lifted its temporary stay of a federal appeals court ruling requiring that Alabama death row inmate Michael Sockwell be retried for murder.

In an unsigned order, the high court lifted an administrative stay of a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit that Justice Clarence Thomas granted on Sept. 26. Thomas, who oversees emergency appeals from Alabama, did not explain at the time why he granted the administrative stay, which gave the justices more time to consider the emergency appeal.