Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Sentencing Law and Policy

Criminal Law

: Sentencing Law and Policy

A deadly legislative deal in the works in NC

By Douglas A. Berman

This local article from North Carolina, headlined "N.C. bias bill adds to death penalty debate: The push to enable a race-based defense may also bring a move to resume executions," spotlights the strange deals that can be made in death penalty debates.  Here are the basics:Anti-death penalty forces are pushing the legislature in its final days to pass a law that would allow murder defendants facing death to challenge prosecutors' decisions as racially biased. But to get that, death penalty foes may have to accept a move to start executions, which have been stalled for more than a year. The House has already passed a bill that would allow murder defendants to use statistical evidence that race was a significant factor in prosecutors seeking the death penalty or in juries imposing it...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on July 14, 2008 (boomark / email).