| PFADP Urges NC Gov to Veto Repeal of Racial Justice Act |
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| 2011 | |||
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MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NOVEMBER 29, 2011 Contacts: Stephen Dear 919.933.7567 office sdear (at) pfadp (dot) org Amanda Lattanzio 919.933.7567 office amanda (at) pfadp (dot) org People of Faith Against the Death Penalty Urges NC Gov to Veto Repeal of Racial Justice Act
People of Faith Against the Death Penalty today sent a letter to NC Gov. Bev Perdue asking her to veto the NC Senate Bill 9, a bill that repeals the NC Racial Justice Act of 2009. The text of the letter reads as follows: Dear Gov. Perdue, Thank you for your support of the Racial Justice Act. I write to urge you to veto Senate Bill 9. When you signed the act into law in 2009 you placed North Carolina again into the national spotlight for our state’s efforts to seek to help to address the historical and persistent problems in the practice of the death penalty. The passage of Senate Bill 9 last night diminishes the state’s example and sends us back to the days of no checks on all-white juries, of no checks on prosecutors wearing noose lapel pins in the courtroom and no checks on racial epithets in jury rooms. In essence, the Racial Justice Act repeal bill, S9, makes it virtually impossible for a capital defendant to prove racial bias impacted his or her death sentence. The bill places “the burden on the defendant… to show that the decision makers in the defendant's case acted with discriminatory purpose.” In other words, the prosecutor would have to admit that racial bias impacted the prosecution of the case. In fact, that has never happened in North Carolina and we believe it never will. Supporters of S9 seem unfazed by the fact that 76 percent of all people executed by the state of North Carolina have been black. Without the RJA we have no check on the fact that defendants who kill white victims are three times more likely to receive a death sentence than those who kill non-whites. Seven hundred faith leaders throughout North Carolina have signed a letter in support of the RJA. Polls show that two-thirds of North Carolinians support the intent of the RJA. On behalf of the board of directors and members of People of Faith Against the Death Penalty we thank you for your support of the RJA and urge you to veto S9. Sincerely, Stephen Dear Executive Director People of Faith Against the Death Penalty is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Carrboro, NC. 110 W. Main St., Ste. 2G, Carrboro, NC 27510 www.pfadp.org ###
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