Convicted felons will be allowed to challenge their death sentences on grounds of racial bias according to a law that passed the Senate on Wednesday night.
The N.C. Racial Justice Act, which passed by a vote of 25-18, would allow defendants to challenge death sentences using statistical evidence that shows that race was a factor in imposition of the death penalty at a local or state level. The bill still requires the governor's approval.
"The need for this bill is self evident to prevent any type of conduct that would be impermissible when it comes to the imposition of the death penalty," said Sen. Floyd McKissick, a Durham Democrat an the bill's sponsor.
When the bill originally passed the Senate, it did so with amendments that would end a de facto moratorium on executions created when physicians refused to participate. The House removed those provisions when it passed its version of the bill.
Opponents of the bill said it will end the imposition of the death penalty in North Carolina.
"Concurring in the House version of this bill is a vote to say we should not have a death penalty in North Carolina," said Sen. Phil Berger, the chamber's Republican leader.
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Re: Racial Justice Act clears Senate
All that is true but we will be politically correct!!! And that is more important than common sense. It makes people feel good and it will cost a lot of money to show that people are not being discriminated against because they are black.