RECENT LEGISLATION: North Carolina Legislators Vote to Repeal Racial Justice Act

On June 5, leg­is­la­tors in North Carolina vot­ed to repeal the Racial Justice Act, which had allowed death row inmates to chal­lenge their sen­tences using sta­tis­ti­cal evi­dence of racial bias. Since the law took effect in 2009, most of the inmates fac­ing exe­cu­tion in North Carolina appealed their sen­tence under the law. In 2012, Marcus Robinson, who was the first defen­dant to receive a hear­ing under the RJA, was re-sen­tenced to life with­out parole due to evi­dence of racial bias in jury selec­tion. Rep. Darren Jackson expressed his dis­ap­point­ment at the repeal: “[W]e vot­ed for the RJA because we want­ed the death penal­ty to be applied uni­form­ly, with­out regard to race. Be it the per­pe­tra­tor, the vic­tim, or an indi­vid­ual juror, race should play no part in the process.” Governor Pat McCrory has said he will sign the repeal bill.

Three oth­er inmates also had their death sen­tences reduced under a revised ver­sion of the Act. 

(K. Severson, ​“North Carolina Repeals Law Allowing Racial Bias Claim in Death Penalty Challenges,” New York Times, June 5, 2013; J. Jones, ​“House Lawmakers Definitively Pass Racial Justice Act Repeal,” North Carolina Public Radio, June 6, 2013). See Race and Recent Legislation.