Seems pretty progressive, NC would only be the second state to pass a law like this (if it passes, not sure what the chances are). Thoughts? Seems like a necessary law, if you admit that there's the possibility of administering the death penalty based on something other than the facts of the case. At the same time, you know every motherfucker on death row is going to appeal as soon as it's passed.

http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/5737507/

8/6/2009 11:32:19 AM

I'd like to go ahead and get the whole "this is racist so that gives me an excuse to be racist myself" post out of the way.

8/6/2009 11:53:26 AM

Anyone who comes up in here talking about the morality of capital punishment and whether we should or should not impose it is a rotten egg!

8/6/2009 12:10:46 PM

the Racial Justice Act has passed both chambers and is on its way to the Governor.

8/6/2009 12:25:19 PM

hell yeah...first 2 states to sign this are my 2 favorite states...nc and kentucky

8/6/2009 12:40:17 PM

what about a law letting the statistics of child custody cases into evidence (i.e. women get the child when all things are equal)

8/6/2009 1:09:46 PM

^ oh man, family law is as fucked up as a soup sandwich. That's just one issue out of many.

8/6/2009 1:26:30 PM

this bill makes me want to

Quote :

"64 percent of the state's adults supported capital punishment. The same poll found this March that 58 percent supported the death penalty while 28 percent opposed it. Less than half said this year that the death penalty was the most appropriate punishment for first-degree murder."

[Edited on August 6, 2009 at 1:35 PM. Reason : ]

8/6/2009 1:33:00 PM

This bill does nothing to prevent the usage of the Death Penalty you fucking retard.

8/6/2009 2:37:20 PM

umm

8/6/2009 2:48:33 PM

Quote :

"This bill does nothing to prevent the usage of the Death Penalty you fucking retard."

8/6/2009 2:51:35 PM

please quote me where i said it did, retard

8/6/2009 2:55:59 PM

Because this post:

Quote :

"TKEshultz All American 6397 Posts user info edit post this bill makes me want to Quote : "64 percent of the state's adults supported capital punishment. The same poll found this March that 58 percent supported the death penalty while 28 percent opposed it. Less than half said this year that the death penalty was the most appropriate punishment for first-degree murder." [Edited on August 6, 2009 at 1:35 PM. Reason : ] "

and this post

Quote :

"TKEshultz All American 6397 Posts user info edit post umm 8/6/2009 2:48:33 PM "

Aren't some how a comment about the people supporting the death penalty.

RETARD

8/6/2009 2:58:00 PM

oh i see, please tell me where i said that article, and the bill, would prevent the death penalty??

8/6/2009 3:03:18 PM

Don't be obtuse you slobbering fucking retard.

8/6/2009 3:05:45 PM

he called me retarded and accused me of misreading the article when i did not

i was merely responding to that

fuckin piggybacking foondart

8/6/2009 3:10:01 PM

8/6/2009 3:38:08 PM

This bill does nothing to prevent the usage of the Death Penalty you fucking retard.

8/6/2009 8:44:03 PM

Having read the bill in question it seems a little fishy.

Quote :

"Evidence relevant to establish a finding that race was a significant factor in 18 decisions to seek or impose the sentence of death in the county, the prosecutorial district, or the 19 State at large at the time the death sentence was sought or imposed may include statistical 20 evidence or other evidence, including, but not limited to, sworn testimony of attorneys, 21 prosecutors, law enforcement officers, jurors, or other members of the criminal justice system 22 or both, that irrespective of statutory factors, death sentences were sought or imposed 23 significantly more frequently: 24 (1) Upon persons of one race than upon persons of another race, or as 25 punishment for capital offenses against persons of one race than as 26 punishment of capital offenses against persons of another race, or that race 27 was a significant factor in decisions to exercise peremptory challenges 28 during jury selection; and 29 (2) That the State is unable to justify the racial disparities demonstrated by the 30 defendant by identifying other, legitimate sentencing considerations that 31 when tested statistically, adequately explain the apparent racial disparities. 32 (c) The defendant has the burden of proving that race was a significant factor in 33 decisions to seek or impose the sentence of death in the county, the prosecutorial district, or the 34 State at large at the time the death sentence was sought or imposed. The State may offer 35 evidence in rebuttal of the claims or evidence of the defendant. The State may rebut a statistical General Assembly of North Carolina Session 2009 Page 2 H472 [Filed] 1 showing of statewide racial disparities by introducing statistical evidence or other evidence 2 demonstrating that no racial discrimination occurred in the county or the prosecutorial district 3 at the time the death penalty was sought or imposed. The court may consider evidence of any 4 program, implemented prior to the defendant's trial for the purpose of eliminating racial 5 disparities, in its evaluation of whether the State has adequately addressed those disparities."

So a person doesn't have to prove that race was a factor in his/her case, they just have to pull up some statistics to show that race can be a factor in your county, prosecutorial district, or state.

8/7/2009 8:53:59 AM

Quote :

"In one case cited by supporters, then-Gov. Mike Easley commuted the death sentence of Robert Bacon Jr. to life in prison in 2001. An all-white jury had sentenced him to death for stabbing his lover's husband to death. The woman, who is white and who lured her husband to the spot where he was killed, avoided a death sentence and has since been paroled."

Quote :

"She was paroled last week after serving nearly 22 years of her life sentence."

Is it that crazy that the person that killed someone got a harsher sentence that the person that was an accomplice?

8/7/2009 9:15:19 AM

I've been mentioning this to people and the reaction has been the same. No one cares that it's based on statistical evidence rather than the evidence of the trial in hand.

They care that it just adds another avenue for someone to get out of the death penalty. Critical reasoning FTW!

God damn you, if you want to abolish the death penalty then do that, don't try to pass absurd laws to obfuscate the process into oblivion.

8/11/2009 12:04:58 PM

Quote :

"Is it that crazy that the person that killed someone got a harsher sentence that the person that was an accomplice? "

She isn't really the accomplice. She is in essence, the murderer and used the other person as her murder weapon.

Just like on murder for hire cases.

8/11/2009 3:16:51 PM

would someone care to explain "statistical evidence" to me?

8/11/2009 3:36:53 PM

Sounds to me like we'll be killing a lot more white people now.

8/11/2009 4:24:46 PM

I am a staunch supporter of capital punishment and I have no problem with the spirit of this bill.

I would rather have the option of a death penalty which is hampered by appeals than have no option at all. Similarly, I would rather have a possibly weaker death penalty with less racism than a possibly stronger one with more.

Although, to be perfectly and completely honest, my ideal version of this bill would involve tracking down perpetrators of racism in these cases and then jailing or hanging them.

8/12/2009 4:10:02 AM

Quote :

"would someone care to explain "statistical evidence" to me? "

not trying to be annoying, I truly want to know what this is implying.....

8/12/2009 8:14:15 AM

Quote :

"So a person doesn't have to prove that race was a factor in his/her case, they just have to pull up some statistics to show that race can be a factor in your county, prosecutorial district, or state."

A fair concern, however, given the latent nature of racial bias, it's really a thing that can only be proven with statistics.

8/12/2009 9:02:46 AM

Nothing can be *proven* with statistics. Surely everyone knows that correlation does not imply causation.

Not only that is that the same data can be manipulated easily to *prove* whatever fact you'd like.
I don't like a law that specifically states that spurious "evidence" can be used is all.

Besides, isn't the judge the person who hands down sentences? Could not one look at the judge's history of sentencing and determine if he or she is racially biased? What does it matter if you can show that the state of NC statistically is biased but your case was not?

8/12/2009 10:54:53 AM