Supreme Court rejects death-row appeal backed by Penn & Teller

The Supreme Court on June 15 declined to hear an appeal from Charles Flores, a Texas death-row inmate whose case drew attention from magicians Penn & Teller. Flores was convicted of shooting a suburban Dallas woman in 1998 during an attempted home robbery. His lawyers argued the trial was tainted by junk science and official misconduct after police used investigative hypnosis on a key witness who testified Flores entered the home. The witness initially described two White men with long hair; later, under hypnosis, her identification shifted, affecting the outcome of the capital prosecution. Penn & Teller filed a brief supporting Flores, arguing that memory manipulation by hypnosis represents a flaw in the justice system. The justices previously declined to review the case in 2021 and 2022. Texas has a 2013 law intended to help people show that discredited science influenced wrongful convictions, but the state’s high court has rejected all such claims from death-sentenced inmates. Prosecutors said Flores' latest appeal simply repackaged prior arguments, while his lawyers argue they have new information, including a broader scientific consensus on eyewitness memory.