Showing posts tagged “racial justice act”
Joe Schwartz ·
6 Jan 2010, 12:44 PM ·
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State Senator Ellie Kinnaird will seek another term, she announced today.
Kinnaird, who represents Orange and Person counties, considered retiring two cycles ago, but ran again after she couldn’t find a female willing to run for her seat. Now, buoyed by recent success with the Racial Justice Act and the anti-bullying bill and a change in Senate leadership, she says she’s eager for the campaign ahead.
“Certainly it’s a tough decision every time, but I felt at that time I was not able to move forward with some of the issues that I thought were so important, and we really turned that around,” she said.
Continue reading »
Orange County, politics 2010 election, anti-bullying bill, Ellie Kinnaird, NC General Assembly, racial justice act
Matt Saldaña ·
11 Aug 2009, 5:19 PM ·
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Today, Gov. Beverly Perdue signed into law the Racial Justice Act, saying the bill’s passage “ensures that when North Carolina hands down our state’s harshest punishment to our most heinous criminals – the decision is based on the facts and the law, not racial prejudice.”
Perdue’s signature, which follows a dramatic 25-18 N.C. Senate vote, makes North Carolina only the second U.S. state to pass legislation that allows capital defendants to present evidence–including statistical data–arguing that race was an underlying factor in the decision to seek, or impose, the death penalty at the time of their trial. Previously, defendants could only make a claim of racial discrimination based on explicit evidence of racism in the courtroom.
The law gives current death-row inmates one year to file a claim, and allows all other capital defendants to present such a claim during pre-trial hearings, or following the sentencing phase. If a judge is satisfied that the defendant has proven race was an underlying factor, despite counter-evidence presented by the prosecution, he or she can reduce the sentence or the charge to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Press releases from the Governor’s office, Amnesty International, and the N.C. NAACP, after the jump: Continue reading »
North Carolina Bev Perdue, Earline Parmon, Floyd McKissick, Larry Womble, NAACP, NC General Assembly, Paul Luebke, Pricey Harrison, racial justice act
Matt Saldaña ·
6 Aug 2009, 6:00 PM ·
1 Comment
After approving versions of roughly three-dozen bills, hammering out a state budget, and deliberating for more than three hours, the N.C. Senate had one bill left on its agenda Wednesday night: the Racial Justice Act. The Senate had previously passed a version of the landmark bill, which would prevent the execution of defendants on the basis of race, but not before tacking on a controversial amendment—introduced by Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham)—that would simultaneously ensure the resumption of capital punishment in North Carolina.
When it came time for the Senate to concur with a “clean” House version that abandoned the controversial clauses, Sen. Floyd McKissick (D-Durham), the bill’s sponsor, stood up, pointed his finger to the chamber’s door, and left in a hurry. Later, the chamber recessed for nearly an hour while the Democrats held a private caucus on the bill.
At roughly 7:45 p.m., the Democrats emerged, and McKissick—who had delayed the vote twice in the past week to garner enough supporters—said, “I would simply ask my colleagues to concur.”
After Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand (D-Cumberland), and two other senators, “paired” their votes with legislators who were absent—essentially dodging a vote on the issue—Democrats voted nearly in unison for the bill, 25-18, ensuring its passage and ratification. In an interview, Chrissy Pearson, press secretary for Gov. Beverly Perdue, said the governor was expected to sign the bill into law. Continue reading »
North Carolina, news, politics Add new tag, Beverly Perdue, Charles Albertson, Doug Berger, Floyd McKissick, Phil Berger, racial justice act, Tony Rand
Matt Saldaña ·
16 Jul 2009, 6:20 PM ·
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Minority House Leader Paul Stam (R-Wake) was silent during yesterday’s floor debate leading up the House’s 61-54 vote to approve the Racial Justice Act, which would prevent the execution of defendants who can prove race was an underlying factor in the decision to seek, or impose, the death penalty at the time of their trial.
But today, Stam fired off a press release (PDF, 142 KB) saying, essentially, that the blood of future murder victims is on the hands of the 61 Democrats who voted for the bill.
Note that’s future victims–meaning they do not actually exist. Nevertheless, Stam said these hypothetical victims, which he estimates to be “150+,” are “primarily African American.”
Stam’s figure arrived, through several permutations, from a University of Houston study that claims to be able to calculate the number of likely murders that occurred as a direct result of Texas’ temporary moratorium. The study’s principal argument is based on the claim–in dispute among criminologists and social scientists–that the death penalty acts as a deterrent on crime. Stam prorated the study’s finding of moratorium-induced deaths–90–for North Carolina’s population and the comparative length of its ongoing moratorium, in place due to legal challenges since August 2006.
In a May 2009 press release (PDF, 146 KB) co-authored by Sens. Phil Berger and Eddie Goodall, Stam claimed that each year North Carolina has had a de facto moratorium, 25 additional murders have resulted, totaling 75 murders. Yet in today’s press release–which carried only Stam’s name–that figure doubled, to 50 murders per year, as a “conservative estimate.” Without any factual basis, Stam then estimated that the Racial Justice Act would extend the state’s de facto moratorium by “3 to 4 additional years,” directly leading to more than 150 additional victims.
“We do not know their names, yet, and may never know their names because this is only the excess number of homicides caused by this moratorium,” Stam said. “But they are real people whose families will grieve over their deaths.”
Multiple studies have shown no correlation between a death penalty and a deterrent to homicide. According to FBI statistics over the past 20 years, states without a death penalty have had consistently lower murder rates than states that do—although this data does not necessarily prove or disprove any correlation.
In addition, Stam greatly exaggerated the estimated financial impact of the Racial Justice Act. In a fiscal note attached to the bill, the N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) predicted additional costs would total between $2.4 million and $6.2 million within the first year, consisting mostly of defendants already on death row, who have one year to file a claim. The N.C. Department of Justice estimated the additional costs for the 163 defendants on death row to be $4 million. By contrast, Stam claimed the bill would cost “tens of millions of dollars,” due to additional hearings expenses for these defendants alone. Continue reading »
North Carolina NC General Assembly, Paul Stam, racial justice act
Matt Saldaña ·
16 Jul 2009, 3:54 AM ·
2 Comments
On Wednesday the N.C. House passed the Racial Justice Act, despite a last-ditch effort by House Republicans to characterize the bill as a potential drain on the justice system, and a ploy to abolish the death penalty altogether. The bill, which N.C. Indigent Defense Services estimated would save the state money in capital trial costs, would not overturn capital punishment in North Carolina. Instead, it would prevent the execution of defendants who can prove race was an underlying factor in the decision to seek, or impose, the death penalty at the time of their trial. These defendants would instead be tried, or sentenced, to life in prison without parole. The bill now moves to the Senate for concurrence, in order to resolve differences between the two chambers’ votes: the Senate version contains unrelated clauses that would ensure the resumption of the death penalty–currently on hold in North Carolina due to legal challenges–while the House version does not deal with the matter.
“Clearly, the House understands that race is still a factor in [capital] sentencing decisions,” Jeremy Collins, campaign coordinator for the N.C. Coalition for a Moratorium, said after the 61-53 vote, which was later adjusted to 61-54. He added: “We’re hopeful the Senate will concur.”
A day after combative debate on the House floor, including a claim by Rep. Paul Stam (R-Wake) that the bill would force prosecutors to sentence more white people, and women, to death, in order to fill racial and gender quotas, the House Minority Leader was silent. Instead, Republicans tried to convince pro-death penalty Democrats to join their side. (Three Democrats voted against the bill; no Republicans supported it.)
“For those of you who support the death penalty, and support this bill, I’d like to address my remarks to you,” Rep. Leo Daughtry (R-Johnston) said, before arguing that Racial Justice Act claims would “clog our system up to the point where we will no longer have a death penalty.”
Yet, Rep. Grier Martin (D-Wake) insisted the distinction among the bill’s supporters was moot.
“It’s entirely possible that someone supports the death penalty out of a strong sense of justice,” he said. “It is not a paradox, and in fact I think it’s entirely consistent with that same sense of justice … that they also be driven to not see the death penalty implemented in a way that executes someone who is innocent, or in this case, reflects the racism that we all know still lingers in our society.” Continue reading »
North Carolina Grier Martin, Leo Daughtry, NC General Assembly, Paul Stam, racial justice act, Rick Glazier, Sarah Stevens
Matt Saldaña ·
15 Jul 2009, 1:17 PM ·
1 Comment
The N.C. House has announced that the Racial Justice Act will come up for a third and final reading during today’s regular session, scheduled for 3 p.m. Senate Bill 461 would prevent the execution of defendants who can prove race was an underlying factor in the decision to seek, or impose, the death penalty at the time of their trial. If convicted of first-degree murder, these defendants instead would be sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Last night, members of the House defeated an amendment that would have reduced the scope of the bill and re-referred it to the Appropriations committee, by a vote of 58-58.
Instead, House Democrats voted to pass a “clean” version of the bill that does not contain controversial clauses that would ensure the resumption of the death penalty in North Carolina; that bill now comes up for a final House vote tonight. Previously, the N.C. Senate passed a version of the bill that does contain these clauses, meaning that an ultimate resolution must be struck either through amendments in the Senate, or in conference committee.
Last night’s debate included re-hashed, and factually inaccurate, claims by Minority House Leader Paul Stam that the bill would require local districts to execute more white people, and women, the N&O and AP report. In fact, the bill would allow defendants to present statistical data to support a claim of racial bias; judges would then rule whether such a claim was valid. It would not require prosecutors to seek out death sentences based on race, but instead ensure the practice does not exist.
For background on the bill, see the Indy’s previous coverage.
North Carolina NC General Assembly, Paul Stam, racial justice act
Matt Saldaña ·
30 Jun 2009, 8:01 PM ·
3 Comments
By a 7-6 vote, the House Judiciary I Committee approved a “clean” version of the Racial Justice Act (SB 461), which would prevent the execution of defendants who can prove race was an underlying factor in the decision to seek, or impose, the death penalty at the time of their trial. The committee had previously passed a similar House version of the bill.
The bill the House J1 Committee approved today does not include controversial clauses that would ensure the resumption of the death penalty in North Carolina, which were added on the Senate floor but later removed in the House Ways and Means Committee. It also contained several technical amendments to the version Ways and Means had passed. The bill now heads to the House Appropriations Committee, before coming up for a vote on the House floor. If House members succeed in keeping the bill free of the execution amendments, a compromise will likely need to be struck in conference committee.
After a discussion by committee members, Committee Chair Deborah Ross asked if anyone in the audience wished to speak against the bill. Nobody raised his hand.
Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford) offered an explanation: “People might not like the idea of coming forward and being against something that’s titled ‘the Racial Justice Act.” He added:
If we really want to talk about racial justice we need to think about the people out there right now, in the various communities in this state, some of whom live in very rough communities and face a survival question day-to-day, at the hands of people who often prey on them. And it’s those African-American citizens, out in the community, that I have more concern about their racial justice, to be able to live their lives. That’s going to be impacted with the DA’s having to look over their shoulders in prosecuting capital cases from now on.
The Rev. William Barber II, president of the NAACP state chapter, walked to the podium to debunk the concern: “African-Americans want to see this passed.”
In an interview after the vote, he cited better schools, jobs and economic development–not the death penalty–as “the deterrents that we need in regards to the issues [Blust] was talking about.”
“The African-American community is somewhat conservative, when it comes to crime,” he said. “We believe, if you do the crime, you ought to do the time. What we fight for is there not being one system of sentencing for black folk, and then another system for others.”
He added: “No prosecutor that’s really interested in justice is worried about anyone reviewing what they have done.”
Meanwhile, a fiscal note (PDF, 96 KB) has been added to the Racial Justice Act’s ncleg.net page, including broad estimates on the cost of implementing the bill. N.C. Indigent Defense Services estimated “there will likely be a net savings associated with implementing the bill,” due to the removal of trial and post-conviction appeal costs when defendants successfully make a Racial Justice Act claim, meaning they would instead be sentenced to life without parole, or, if their trial has not yet begun, tried for life without parole. Continue reading »
North Carolina John Blust, NAACP, NC General Assembly, racial justice act, Tracey Cline, william barber
Matt Saldaña ·
8 Jun 2009, 9:02 PM ·
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Today the House Committee on Ways and Means and Broadband Connectivity narrowly approved the Racial Justice Act (SB 461), which would prevent the execution of defendants who can prove race was an underlying factor in the decision to seek, or impose, the death penalty at the time of their trial. The bill, which passed 7-5, will now be taken up by the House Judiciary I Committee, which has already approved an earlier House version this session. (Ways and Means today passed the Senate version, which currently contains while removing a controversial clause that would ensure capital punishment will resume in the state.)
Before it passed, the bill faced stiff opposition from Minority House Leader Paul Stam (R-Wake) and Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby, who each provided the committee with strained analogies to argue against the use of statistical data in proving racial bias.
Speaking on behalf of the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys, Willoughby compared disproportionate sentencing, based on race, to disproportionate sentencing based on “blood type” or “astrological signs.”
He said all of the examples represent a “disingenuous and scientifically unsound method of using statistics to insert some sort of causal relationship without proof.”
A 2001 study conducted by two University of North Carolina professors, which analyzed cases over a four-year period in the 1990s, found the odds of receiving a death sentence in North Carolina grew 3.5 times in cases where the victim was white. In addition, the study found, black defendants were twice as likely to receive death sentences when comparing identical crimes.
Willoughby argued that analyzing prior death-sentencing decisions, and comparing them to current cases, was the equivalent to punishing defendants for past crimes (which, under North Carolina’s habitual felon law, we do.) Rep. Stam, raising his hand to speak “in favor” of the Racial Justice Act, said he “took issue” with the analogy.
“What this bill does is say that, because Rep. [Thom] Tillis [R-Mecklenburg] did a breaking-and-entering five years ago, I must’ve done it this year–because we happen to be the same race,” he said, grabbing Tills–himself a Racial Justice Act opponent–by the shoulders. Continue reading »
North Carolina NC General Assembly, racial justice act
Matt Saldaña ·
20 May 2009, 12:40 PM ·
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For the first time ever, the N.C. Senate has passed the Racial Justice Act–a measure that previously failed after the Senate refused to vote on the bill. The historic legislation would prevent the execution of defendants who can prove race was was an underlying factor in the decision to seek, or impose, the death penalty at the time of their trial. However, death-penalty reform advocates are dismayed at a Senate amendment that seeks to re-start executions, on hold since August 2006, by resolving several legal issues before the courts.
“What they’re trying to do is make this an execution bill, and this is not that,” Rep. Larry Womble (D-Forsyth), a a House bill sponsor, told the Indy for a story that runs in print today (and online here). “This bill is about fairness, and opportunity, for both sides–the prosecutors and also the defendants. It’s a fairness bill.”
This Thursday, at 9:30 a.m., the Historic Thousands on Jones Street Coalition (HKonJ) and N.C. Coalition for a Moratorium will hold a press conference to protest the Senate amendment, which was introduced by Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), one of 10 state senators to vote against the bill. In 2007, the House passed the Racial Justice Act without the amendement, though the Senate refused to vote on it.
Meanwhile, this year’s Senate bill has been referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means and Broadband Connectivity. If favorable, it will then be referred to the House Judiciary I committee, which has already approved a House version of the bill. In an interview, Judiciary I Committee member Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) said she will seek to restore the bill to its original version.
Full release, after the jump. Continue reading »
North Carolina NC General Assembly, racial justice act
Matt Saldaña ·
15 May 2009, 4:35 PM ·
1 Comment
Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens has issued an order (PDF, 896 KB) upholding the method North Carolina used to approve its death-penalty protocol, removing one of the final hurdles to resuming executions in the state. (See “De facto death penalty moratorium may end,” Independent Weekly, May 13, 2009.) The order rejects an appeal, filed by five death-row inmates, charging that the N.C. Council of State–a council of statewide elected officials–violated the Administrative Procedures Act when it approved the protocol in a single meeting closed to public comment. Stephens’ ruling overturns an earlier decision, by Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) Judge Fred Morrison, ordering the Council of State to reconsider its decision–which the Council of State, in turn, rejected.
Essentially, Stephens found that the Administrative Procedures Act did not apply to the Council of State, because it was merely signing off on a protocol developed by the N.C. Department of Correction–itself not subject to the Rule Making and Contested Case Provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act. In other words, the development of an execution protocol–the means by which North Carolina kills its death-row inmates–can have no administrative oversight, outside the Council of State, and is not subject to normal administrative procedures, Stephens found.
The judge also ruled that the death-row inmates who filed the appeal are “not aggrieved persons with standing to challenge the approval of the protocol.”
“There’s a division of two judges here,” Mark Kleinschmidt, executive director of Fair Trial Initiative, and an attorney representing one of the inmates, said in an interview. “It’s certainly an issue that’s worthy of appeal—though we haven’t decided our next steps yet.” Continue reading »
North Carolina, Wake County NC General Assembly, racial justice act
