Courtney L. Rainey v. Mississippi

The State of Mississippi convicted Petitioner of one count of witness intimidation pursuant to Section 97-9-113(d) of the Mississippi Code, which makes it a crime to ask a witness to provide false information in connection with an ongoing investigation. The sole witness the State of Mississippi presented at trial to support that conviction told the jury that she, the witness, had falsely told law enforcement that Petitioner had engaged in criminal activity. As to the witness intimidation charge, the witness informed the jury that Petitioner never intimidated, or attempted to intimidate, her and that Petitioner only asked the witness to go back to the police and tell them the truth to correct the false accusations the witness had made against Petitioner. The Mississippi Court of Appeals reversed Petitioner’s conviction for witness