Tag: racial disparity
Posted on Wed Jul 17, 2013 at 07:17:53 PM EST
Tags: racial disparity (all tags)
Just released: a groundbreaking report with
[an] inclusive examination of the profound racial and ethnic disparities in America’s criminal justice system, and concrete ways to overcome them.
The full report is here. It is co-sponsored by co-sponsored by the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, the Foundation for Criminal Justice, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions, and the New York County Lawyers’ Association.
The scope of the disparity: [More...]
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Posted on Thu Feb 16, 2012 at 08:09:00 AM EST
Tags: death penalty, racial disparity, North Carolina (all tags)
In 2009, North Carolina enacted the Racial Justice Act which requires a judge to convert a death sentence to life in prison without parole if it is later shown that race played a significant role in the conviction or sentence. To make the showing, the Act permits the introduction of statistical evidence.
The defendant doesn't have to prove race caused the verdict, only that it played a significant role, meaning:
...that race weighed heavily in prosecutors' and jurors' decisions concerning the death penalty "in the county, the prosecutorial district, the judicial division, or the State at the time the death sentence was sought or imposed."
Closing arguments concluded yesterday in the first hearing under the Act, which has taken 2 1/2 weeks. The case involves Marcus Reymond Robinson, an African American, who was sentenced to death for killing a 17 year old white man. He is challenging his conviction and sentence, arguing there was racial bias in jury selection and in the criminal justice system.[More...]
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