The law, which allows death penalty defendants to challenge their convictions if they believe racial bias tainted their trial, was signed into law by Gov. Beverly Perdue on Tuesday.
Durham District Attorney Tracey Cline can cite on two hands the number of death penalty cases that have been tried in Durham over the past 20 years. The race of the defendant -- or the victim -- didn't play a role in any of the cases, she says.
Cline's argument rings true, but we're still glad the state of North Carolina has the benefit of this law.
Some advocates believe they see a statewide trend that shows a death penalty is more likely in cases where the defendant is black and the victim white. The numbers do trend in that direction, although not starkly enough to prove the case one way or the other.
In Durham, as Cline points out, the black defendant/white victim bias doesn't seem to hold water at all.
But overall, that argument is really a distraction. The point is not whether a majority of death penalty cases have racial bias, or even whether many do. The point is that if racial bias occurs in some death penalty cases in this state -- and we feel sure it does on occasion -- that the defendant has recourse to examine the issue.
Because as Durham Superior Court Judge Orlando Hudson pointed out, once a death sentence is carried out, there's no chance of a do-over. All the pertinent issues, including race, should be open to question.
Judge Hudson told The Herald-Sun's John McCann he believes the Racial Justice Act is "a tremendous piece of legislation." That's a strong endorsement, and we agree.
We have seen too many death penalty cases overturned in recent years based on DNA evidence -- some after the defendant has spent many years on death row -- to be complacent about the death penalty.
Congratulations to Sen. McKissick for pushing this tool to aid justice in death penalty cases.
