Race still matters in life-and-death cases : News-Record.com

Race still matters in life-and-death cases : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis

By Rep. Pricey Harrison

Some of my colleagues in the North Carolina General Assembly want you to think this is about your safety.

This week, when they voted for legislation that effectively repeals the NC Racial Justice Act, a landmark law that allows the courts to fully examine claims of racial bias, they said the law had to be changed because it could result in convicted murderers being set free.

They wanted you to believe that those of us who have supported the Racial Justice Act, including our governor, relish the idea of rolling out the red carpet and ushering killers back into your neighborhoods.

The reality is, my colleagues weren’t telling you the truth. Once again, they were playing the politics of fear to avoid the real issues.
Despite the arguments of prosecutors and lawmakers opposed to the bill, the law is absolutely clear: No convicted criminal will be released from prison under the Racial Justice Act.

The Racial Justice Act allows inmates on death row to have their cases re-examined for evidence that racial bias played a role in their receiving a death sentence. That bias can be systematic or specific to the defendant’s case.

If a judge finds that racial bias was a factor, the defendant’s sentence will be converted to life in prison without parole. It’s written in black and white, not a bit of gray area — life in prison without parole.