Entries tagged with “Hasson Bacote”
Mar 28, 2025
“He Looks a Little Like the Defendant”: A Closer Look at the History of Racial Bias in Jury Selection
As closing arguments of his trial began in Johnston County, North Carolina, Hasson Bacote watched as Assistant District Attorney Gregory Butler urged the jury to sentence him to death. Mr. Bacote, a Black man, had been convicted of fatally shooting 18-year-old Anthony Surles during a robbery when Mr. Bacote was just 21 years old. Mr. Bacote admitted he had fired a single shot out of a trailer, but said he did not know that he hit anyone. “Hasson Bacote is a thug: cold-blooded and without…
Feb 07, 2025
Judge Finds Race Plays a “Significant Role” in Death Sentences in Three North Carolina Counties
On February 7, 2025, Johnston County Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons ruled “[r]ace was a significant factor” in both jury selection and the decision to impose death in the case of Hasson Bacote and granted relief for Mr. Bacote from his death sentence under the provisions of North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act (RJA). Judge Sermons also found racial discrimination tainted all death sentences in Johnston County and neighboring Harnett and Lee Counties, potentially affecting the outcomes of…
Jan 02, 2025
In Wake of President Biden’s Federal Commutations, North Carolina Governor Cooper Grants Clemency to 15 Death-Sentenced Prisoners, the Largest Grant of Capital Clemency in State History
On December 31, 2024, during his last day in office, outgoing North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper commuted the death sentences of 15 men on the state’s death row to life in prison without parole. “These reviews are among the most difficult decision a Governor can make and the death penalty is the most severe sentence that the state can impose,” said Gov. Cooper in a statement following the announcement of the commutations. “After thorough review, reflection, and prayer, I concluded that the…
Issues
Aug 28, 2024
Closing Arguments in Hasson Bacote’s North Carolina Racial Justice Act Hearing Conclude; Results Could Impact More than 100 People on State’s Death Row
On August 21, 2024, attorneys presented closing arguments in the case of North Carolina v. Hasson Bacote, a landmark lawsuit brought under the state’s Racial Justice Act (RJA), the findings of which could impact the sentences of more than 100 individuals on North Carolina’s death row. Hasson Bacote, a Black man sentenced to death in 2009, first filed a lawsuit in 2010, arguing that racial bias influenced the jury selection in his case and all other death penalty cases throughout North Carolina.
Issues
Mar 14, 2024
North Carolina Racial Justice Act Hearing Concludes in Hasson Bacote Case
On Friday, March 8, 2024 a Johnston County trial court concluded a historic hearing regarding the claims of Hasson Bacote, a death-sentenced prisoner in North Carolina, that racial discrimination in jury selection played a role in his 2009 capital sentencing. The case, which is being reviewed pursuant to North Carolina’s 2009 Racial Justice Act (RJA), could have implications for more than 100 other death row prisoners who have pending claims under the Act. The evidence presented by Mr.
Issues
Feb 26, 2024
North Carolina Trial Court Will Hear New Evidence of Racial Bias in Death Row Prisoner’s Racial Justice Act Claim
Beginning February 28, 2024, a Johnston County, North Carolina, trial court will hear death row prisoner Hasson Bacote’s claims that racial discrimination in jury selection played a role in his capital sentencing. In 2009, North Carolina passed the Racial Justice Act (RJA), which allowed death-sentenced prisoners to challenge their sentences if they could demonstrate that race played a role in their sentencing and jury selection. Sentenced to death in 2009 by a nearly all-white jury, Mr.