The Mississippi Supreme Court has been called on to weigh in on a heavy decision, taking the ultimate step to ensure the safety of residents and at the same time, setting a potential standard for future appeals.
The death row inmate's most recent request for post-conviction relief was rejected by the Mississippi Supreme Court, as local news reported. He was convicted in 1992 of the murders of two students at Mississippi State University.
The murders of Tiffany Miller and Jon Steckler led to the 1994 conviction of 56-year-old Willie Jerome Manning for capital murder.
The inmate's attorneys have repeatedly attempted to overturn the conviction, citing "newly discovered firearms evidence" and a witness who has subsequently recanted his testimony against Manning as the basis for their most recent case.
In December 1992, Earl Jordan, who was Manning's cousin and had previously served a prison term with him, informed the authorities that Manning had admitted to killing the students from Mississippi State.
Finally, in 2023, Jordan recanted his testimony and claimed he made it up to get his own sentence lowered.
The top court challenged the submission of documents by Manning's counsel, stating that "newly discovered and developed firearms identification evidence" has emerged, even though the pistol used to murder Steckler and Miller has not been located.
As a result, the appeal that Manning filed was rejected by the state supreme court, which voted 5-4 against it.
“Petitioner has had more than a full measure of justice. Tiffany Miller and Jon Steckler have not. Their families have not. The citizens of Mississippi have not,” a portion of the majority opinion written by Justice Michael Randolph reads.
“It is, therefore, ordered that Willie Jerome Manning is denied leave to proceed in the circuit court with his claim of newly discovered evidence based on Earl Jordan’s recantation. It is further ordered that all other claims for relief set forth in Willie Jerome Manning’s motion for leave to file successive petitions for post-conviction relief are denied.”
According to reports, Steckler and Miller were murdered in rural Oktibbeha County before being shot and left. Pat Station Road was the scene of where Steckler's lifeless body was eventually found, and the investigation into his murder began.
His wounds seemed to be the consequence of a low-speed car crash and gunshot wounds. On his way to the hospital, he passed away.
But Miller was discovered dead in a wooded area close to Steckler's corpse.
She was allegedly raped after suffering multiple gunshot wounds to the face and a beating. After attempting to sell victim possessions, Manning was caught and charged with the murders of the two. A jury swiftly found him guilty of capital murder.
The high court had previously agreed to delay Manning's execution date until he challenged his conviction, but their most recent decision could now set the stage for the state to execute the inmate.
“Today the Court perverts its function as an appellate court and makes factual determinations that belong squarely within the purview of the circuit court judge,” Justice Jim Kitchens wrote in dissent to the majority opinion’s most recent decision to deny Manning’s petition for post-conviction relief.
“This Court has held explicitly that ‘when an important witness to a crime recants his testimony and offers a reason for having given false testimony at trial, the defendant/petitioner is entitled to an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the witness lied at trial or on his affidavit.'”
The defense team representing Manning will maintain their demand for a new trial. The prisoner continues to insist on his innocence even now.
