NC: Don't Allow Racial Injustice in Death Penalty Sentences!
- van: Care2.com
- ontvanger: North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue
In November 2011, a new North Carolina bill effectively repealed the Racial Justice Act of 2009, making it more difficult for defendants to prove that racial bias played a role in their sentencing.
The Racial Justice Act is an important safeguard against racial discrimination for death row inmates. It allowed them to appeal their sentences if they could show their cases were subject to racial bias. In North Carolina, black defendants are more likely than white defendants to receive a death sentence. Black defendants with white victims are 2.6 times more likely to receive a death sentence if their victims were black.
It's imperative that there is a system to uphold racial justice in this state, so that inmates like Darryl Hunt -- who spent 19 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit and who had 11 white jurors at his trial -- can get justice.
Ask North Carolina governor Beverly Perdue to bring back the Racial Justice Act.
Dear Governor Perdue,
The Racial Justice Act of 2009 is an imperative tool in the North Carolina justice system that allowed death row inmates to appeal their sentences if they could statistically show their cases were subject to racial bias. It has helped inmates like Darryl Hunt -- who spent 19 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit, and who had 11 white jurors and 1 black juror at his trial -- get justice.
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In North Carolina, statistics show black defendants are more likely than white defendants to receive a death sentence, and black defendants with white victims are 2.6 times more likely to receive a death sentence if their victims were black. We need a system of checks to ensure racial bias never plays a role in the North Carolina justice system and innocent people are not put to death.
With the recent passage of the 'No Discriminatory Purpose in the Death Penalty' NC Senate Bill 9, the Racial Justice Act was effectively repealed. As a North Carolina resident who cares about fairness in our justice system, I urge you to enforce the upholding of the Racial Justice Act in North Carolina.
