Thursday, April 26, 2012

North Carolina Gets a Racial Conscience


Last week, a convicted murderer had his sentence changed from capital punishment to life in prison. The ruling was the result of North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act. This Act, passed in 2009, was based on statistical evidence showing that if the victim is White, “the odds of receiving a death sentence increases three and a half times.”
The Racial Justice Act allows defendants to challenge their sentence if race is thought to be a factor in their sentencing. Given the many racial disparities long discussed by the Death Penalty Information Center, this is a long-time coming.
Read the rest here

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