SCOTUS Declines To Review Mississippi Death Row Inmate’s Case

The Supreme Court of the United States on Monday refused to take up an appeal from a Mississippi death row inmate convicted of murdering a young woman during a brutal attempted rape, allowing the conviction and death sentence to stand.

Stephen Elliot Powers, now 56, was sentenced to death in December 2000 for the June 1998 killing and attempted rape of 27-year-old Elizabeth “Beth” Lafferty inside her Hattiesburg home. The Court’s decision leaves intact decades of rulings by Mississippi courts that upheld the jury’s verdict and sentence.

According to prosecutors, Lafferty was shot multiple times during the attack, including at close range, a crime that shocked the local community and resulted in one of the state’s most serious capital convictions. The Clarion Ledger previously reported details of the fatal encounter as presented at trial.

In a petition filed in October 2025, Powers’ legal team claimed state officials deliberately withheld potentially exculpatory evidence until 2023. The filing alleged that after Powers began requesting certain materials, the state instructed both a local law enforcement agency and the Mississippi Forensics Laboratory not to turn over evidence to the defense.

Powers later sought a court order compelling production of the materials, a request that was partially granted. His attorneys argued that the newly disclosed documents suggested the existence of an alternate suspect with close ties to the victim.

According to the petition, the records identified Lafferty’s ex-boyfriend as the original and sole suspect early in the investigation. The defense also cited a witness statement describing the last person seen with Lafferty as a thin white male, a description they said aligned with the ex-boyfriend and not Powers, who is Black.

After obtaining the materials, Powers filed a motion for post-conviction relief with the Mississippi Supreme Court. His lawyers argued that the court dismissed the petition without addressing whether evidence had been improperly suppressed or whether Powers should be blamed for not raising the issue sooner.

In a response submitted on Dec. 22, 2025, the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office rejected those claims, stating the ex-boyfriend was not pursued further once investigators identified Powers as the last person seen with Lafferty, secured a confession, and were led by Powers to the murder weapon.

Powers has not denied killing Lafferty, but has claimed the firearm discharged during a struggle. Prosecutors countered that the ex-boyfriend had an alibi at the time of the murder and that references to a second suspect appeared only in a single patrol officer’s report, information they said would not have altered the trial’s outcome.

“This case does not warrant further review,” the state wrote.

Lafferty’s parents, Mike and Diane Lafferty, have repeatedly said they will never recover from their daughter’s death and remain committed to seeing the lawful sentence carried out, telling the Clarion Ledger they continue to seek justice.

Meanwhile, in a separate legal and political development, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent expressed confidence that the Supreme Court will not strike down President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs, signaling strong executive authority over economic policy.

“I believe that it is very unlikely that the Supreme Court will overrule a president’s signature economic policy,” Bessent said during an appearance on Meet the Press. “They did not overrule Obamacare. I believe that the Supreme Court does not want to create chaos.”

His comments followed last month’s Supreme Court decision upholding a key provision of the Affordable Care Act allowing a federal panel to recommend preventive services insurers must cover at no cost to patients, according to CNBC.

Bessent’s remarks came a day after President Trump announced plans for a new round of tariffs on European goods, to remain in effect until what he described as “a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”

The administration has not specified the statute being used, though the action mirrors earlier “liberation day” tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Under the plan, tariffs on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Finland will begin at 10 percent on Feb. 1 and rise to 25 percent on June 1.