---
title: 'UPCOMING EXECUTION: Lawyers Request Reprieve Because of Racial Bias in Dallas County'
description: 'Lawyers for Kimberly McCarthy, who is to be executed on January 29, have petitioned Texas Governor Rick Perry for a 30-day reprieve because of evidence of…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/upcoming-execution-lawyers-request-reprieve-because-of-racial-bias-in-dallas-county'
section: news
date: '2013-01-29T19:05:01-05:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:34:15-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

! Lawyers for **Kimberly McCarthy**, who is to be executed on January 29, have petitioned **Texas Governor Rick Perry** for a 30-day reprieve because of evidence of racial bias in the county in which she was tried. The District Attorney for Dallas County, [Craig Watkins](/race-dallas-district-attorney-supports-racial-justice-act-texas), has already called for passage of a Racial Justice Act to address the bias he has found. Attorneys for McCarthy cited several studies pointing to racial disparity in the application of the death penalty: Dallas County is about 22% black, yet 42% of those executed or awaiting execution from the County are black. Ms. McCarthy is black and her victim was white, like 68% of the victims in the County's cases. Her attorneys wrote, “These statistics and their import are reflected in the case of Kimberly McCarthy, an African-American woman, who was sentenced to death for the murder of an elderly white woman." Evidence also exists of bias in jury selection, both historically and in her case: "Of the thirteen jurors seated \[in McCarthy’s case\], all were white except one.” Although the governor cannot grant clemency to McCarthy because the Pardons Board voted against her, he can issue a 30-day reprieve for further investigation. **\[UPDATE: State District Judge Larry Mitchell stayed McCarthy's execution. Her execution was initially rescheduled for April 3, 2013 and she was executed on June26, 2013.\]**

([Attorneys for McCarthy, Letter to Governor Perry](https://cdn.craft.cloud/c08a8cf8-1de1-4da0-8525-321ca2c16992/assets/legacy/McCarthyReprieve.pdf), January 28, 2013). See [**Race**](/race-and-death-penalty?did=105&scid=5). Listen to DPIC's [**podcast on Race**](/podcasts#rac).