Opinion ID: 1714125
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Wilford Bishop, Jr.

Text: ¶ 28. Bishop was a preacher and requested to be excused from jury service because he would begin pastoring a congregation in the next few days. A concern that a venireperson who has asked to be excused would be preoccupied is a sufficient race-neutral reason for the use of a peremptory strike. Turner v. State, 573 So.2d 657, 662-63 (Miss.1990). Also, the use of a peremptory strike against a minister is race-neutral because of the minister's perceived sympathy and compassion. Lockett v. State, 517 So.2d 1346, 1351 (Miss.1988). ¶ 29. We find that the State had sufficient race-neutral reasons to exercise its peremptory strikes against these four venirepersons. The record does not show that any Caucasian venirepersons who shared these same characteristics were chosen as jurors.