North Carolina Racial Justice Act Advances

"Committee OKs bill meant to help defendants challenge death penalty," is the title of James Romoser's report in today's Winston-Salem Journal.

A bill that would establish a new pro­cedure for defendants to challenge the use of the death penalty advanced yesterday in the General Assembly.

The bill, known as the "North Carolina Racial Justice Act," was approved 7-5 by a committee in the state House. It now moves to a different committee before coming up for a vote in the full House. The Senate passed a previous version of the bill last month.

Supporters of the bill say it would give defendants and death-row inmates clear legal channels through which they could argue that the application of capital punishment was racially motivated, either on the part of a prosecutor who sought the death penalty or on the part of a jury that imposed the death penalty.

"It takes steps toward eradicating the problem of racial bias in the capital-punishment process," said Jeremy Collins, the campaign coordinator of the N.C. Coalition for a Moratorium.

Two of the bill's chief supporters in the legislature are two Winston-Salem Democrats: Rep. Earline Parmon and Rep. Larry Womble.

Opponents say that the bill, while well-intentioned, goes too far because it would allow defendants to use statistical evidence from previous cases to show racial bias.

For instance, if a black death-row inmate proved that, in his county, other black defendants were significantly more likely than white defendants to be sentenced to death, that would be enough for a judge to throw out the inmate's death sentence.

The sentence would be converted to life in prison without parole.

And:

Supporters of the bill said that there is vast evidence suggesting that race has historically been a factor in the use of capital punishment, both nationwide and in North Carolina.

The bill had gotten held up last week in the House committee because many supporters and opponents wanted to speak on the bill.

It had appeared that the bill would be stalled for at least two weeks, but the committee's chairman scheduled a new meeting yesterday afternoon for the committee to take up the bill again.

After about 45 minutes of debate, the vote was taken and the bill was narrowly approved.

Raleigh's News & Observer carries a brief AP dispatch, "Racial bias procedure OKd in House committee."

A House panel has agreed to legislation providing a way for defendants in North Carolina to try to prove racial bias put them on death row or caused a prosecutor to seek a capital conviction.

The House Ways and Means Committee voted 7-to-5 Monday for the Racial Justice Act. It now heads to a judiciary panel. The Senate approved a different version of the bill.

A defendant could go to court and if successful get a death sentence reduced to life in prison. The defendant could use statistics and other evidence.

Earlier coverage begins with this post.