Entries tagged with “William Leroy Barnes

Policy Issues

Sep 20, 2019

Federal Appeals Court Overturns North Carolina Death Sentence for Juror Misconduct Based on Improper Consultation With Pastor During Deliberations

A fed­er­al appeals court has vacat­ed the death sen­tence imposed on a North Carolina death-row pris­on­er, find­ing that one of his jurors improp­er­ly con­sult­ed her pas­tor about her deci­sion and then com­mu­ni­cat­ed the pas­tor’s advice to fel­low jurors. In a 2 – 1 deci­sion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled on September 12, 2019 that William Leroy Barnes (pic­tured) had been denied his Sixth Amendment right to tri­al by an impar­tial jury and reversed…