Jackson Free Press

The Mississippi Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Michelle Byrom in April 2014. She had been on death row since 2000, after the Tishomingo County Circuit Court convicted her for an alleged murder-for-hire plot, resulting in the death of her husband, even though her son, Edward Byrom Jr., confessed to the murder at least four times, as the Jackson Free Press revealed last March.

On March 27, 2014, Attorney General Jim Hood requested that the Mississippi Supreme Court set an execution date. Instead, the court reversed Byrom's conviction and death sentence at the last second on March 31, 2014. Hood asked the court for an explanation.

"The State submits there is an absolute need to know the reasoning behind this decision so as to avoid the same errors at the new trial," Hood's office wrote in the motion. "... A written opinion will be useful to the parties and to the trial court assigned to retry this case."

Oxford, Miss., lawyer Tom Freeland, publisher of the blog the North Mississippi Commentor, wrote in a response: "The notion that 'hard cases make bad law' in criminal cases in general and in death penalty cases very specifically, invariably means one thing: 'We are going to affirm this conviction no matter what because the facts are so bad, so where we can't fudge about the issues, we're just going to improvise some really bad rules.'"

"I've always wondered whether there would come a point where the court would look at their increasingly strict procedural rules used to prevent claims from being heard, and, in the right case say, 'Look, I know what the rules say, but if we do this one that way, I'm not sure we can sleep at night.' Maybe that's the underlying principle that got nine votes. If so, I don't think the attorney general should hold (his) breath in hopes of an explanation," Freeland wrote.

The Mississippi Supreme Court denied the attorney general's motion for an explanation.

Freeland, who passed away Feb. 21, dedicated his free time to Mississippi political commentary, including on cases such as Byrom's. After writing for blogs such as Folo, Freeland began the NMissCommenter.

Freeland's brand of commentary was a concoction of whit, intelligence and common sense. Though his blog focused on politics, Freeland also wrote about everyday life the community and the Oxford restaurants he loved. The North Mississippi Commentor offered everything from a section on state legal issues to his food diary and record collection.

Freeland, a popular figure around Oxford, graduated from the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981. He practiced law in Oxford for 33 years with his father, Hal Freeland, at Freeland & Freeland Law Firm, and for the last 11 years, with his wife, Joyce Freeland. He argued cases in areas such as health-insurance defense, school law and death-penalty defense.

He died Saturday, Feb. 21, at Oshner Medical Center in New Orleans from complications after surgery. His visitation is Thursday, Feb. 26, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Waller Funeral Home in Oxford. The service will be 11 a.m. Friday, Feb. 27, at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Oxford. He will be buried in Oxford Memorial Cemetery.

*This story has been edited to reflect factcheck changes. It was the Tishomingo County Circuit Court that convicted Michelle Byrom for an alleged murder-for-hire plot against her husband, not the Mississippi Supreme Court. The original version also said that Attorney General Jim Hood ordered Byrom's execution. However, he does not have the power to do that. Hood requested an execution date, but instead, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed her conviction and death sentence.