On May 12, the North Carolina Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill to pre­vent racial bias in the admin­is­tra­tion of the death penal­ty. The sen­ate’s action came just hours after a House pan­el passed a near­ly iden­ti­cal bill, known as the Racial Justice Act. The bill allows those con­vict­ed or accused of cap­i­tal mur­der to argue through the use of sta­tis­ti­cal stud­ies that race played a role in their death sen­tence or a prosecutor’s deci­sion to seek the death penal­ty. If that bias is proven, a judge could vacate the death sen­tence or order that cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment not be sought. The next step for either ver­sion of the Racial Justice Act is a vote on the House or Senate floor. Two years ago, the House approved a sim­i­lar bill. A video about the Racial Justice Act pro­duced by the North Carolina Coalition for a Moratorium may be viewed here.

(Associated Press, ​“NC House pan­el Oks method on racial bias claim,” May 12, 2009). See Race and Recent Legislation.

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