"House ponders compromise on Racial Justice Act," by Craig Jarvis for the Charlotte Observer.
In the end, the Republican leadership of the state House wasn't able to line up enough votes on Wednesday to override the governor's veto of Senate Bill 9, the legislation aimed at preventing death-row inmates from using statistical evidence of racial bias to reduce their sentences to life without parole.
That leaves the 2-year-old Racial Justice Act as the law of the land for now. But its future is still uncertain.
Republicans sent the bill to a judiciary committee, where it can remain in the wings in case they want to spring it for a future override vote. At the same time, House Speaker Thom Tillis created a new committee - the House Select Committee on Racial Discrimination in Capital Cases - to see if a compromise can be reached, either by reworking SB9 or coming up with a new bill.
And:
More skeptical was Sen. Floyd McKissick, a Durham Democrat, who was the primary sponsor of the Racial Justice Act and is chairman of the black caucus in the General Assembly. "Perhaps they think they can override the governor's veto at some point in the future," McKissick said. "If that's their tactic, then I think this is purely a ploy. On the other hand, if they're sincere about it, then I think I'd be at the top of the list of people they'd want to contact."
Also:
The unexpected, late-night attempt to find a compromise Wednesday came after Republicans couldn't muster enough votes for an override. Tillis and his staff had been aggressively seeking the support of conservative-leaning Democrats and had a sympathetic ear in Rep. William Brisson, a Democrat representing Bladen and Cumberland counties, and Rep. Jim Crawford, a Democrat from Oxford. They knew that Tillis wanted some way to salvage SB9. The two conservative Democrats said they think the intent of the Racial Justice Act is important - ensuring there is no racial bias in prosecution or sentencing in death-penalty cases - but they didn't want to ignore the concerns of nearly all the district attorneys in the state. "We just felt like it would be smarter to see if we couldn't correct some of the problems with it (SB9)," Crawford said Thursday. "I'd like to see legislation introduced that would correct any problems. Also, [waiting] would give the bill (the Racial Justice Act) a chance to work, to see if the courts will clear up some of the problems."
Members of the House Select Committee on Racial Discrimination in Capital Cases include: Chairman Rep. Tim Moore, R-Kings Mountain; Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam, R-Apex; Rep. Justin Burr, R-Albemarle; Rep. Sarah Stevens, R-Mount Airy; Rep. Shirley Randleman, R-Wilkesboro; Rep. John Faircloth, R-High Point; Rep. Timothy Spear, D-Creswell; Rep. Larry Hall, D-Durham; Rep. Joe Hackney, D-Chapel Hill; Rep. Earline Parmon, D-Winston-Salem.
Earlier coverage of the RJA begins at the link.
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