RJA in Senate and House JI Tuesday May 12, 2009

You can use the letter provided below, but personalizing your message (and subject line!) will increase impact.

Keep the following in mind:

Race continues to play an undeniable part in North Carolina’s use of the death penalty

A defendant in the state of North Carolina is 3.5 times more likely to get the death penalty if their victim is white than if their victim is a person of color.

Prosecutors exclude people of color from sitting on juries in death penalty cases. Many African-Americans on North Carolina’s death row were sentenced to death by all-white juries.

In 2008, three men, Jonathan Hoffman, Edward Chapman and Levon Jones, were exonerated from North Carolina’s death row. All three men are African-American and were accused of killing at least one white victim.

Currently, a person on death row is barred from presenting statistical evidence—often the best and most accessible form of proof—to show that racial discrimination took place in his case.

The NC Racial Justice Act, S461, would allow a person accused of a capital crime the opportunity of a court review of whether race played a part in the prosecutor’s decision to seek the death penalty.

Please click here to send a letter to all members of the House Judiciary I Committee as well

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November 22, 2009

Subject:

Dear Senators,

The NC Racial Justice Act, S461, would allow a person accused of a capital crime the opportunity of a court review to determine whether race played a part in the prosecutor’s decision to seek the death penalty.   I am writing to ask you to support the NC Racial Justice Act (S461), legislation that will begin to address racial disparities in NC’s death penalty system. The Racial Justice Act would allow a person accused of a capital crime the opportunity to show if race impacted their case. Race continues to play an undeniable part in North Carolina's use of the death penalty. A defendant in the state of North Carolina is 3.5 times more likely to receive the death penalty if the victim is white, according to a study by UNC-Chapel Hill. Many African-Americans on NC's Death Row were sentenced to death by all white juries. Race should never be a factor when considering a punishment as irreversible as a death sentence. I urge your support for the NC Racial Justice Act. If you already support or co-sponsor S461, thank you for backing this important reform effort!
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