skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

NC Supreme Court Considers Racial Justice Act Cases

play audio
Play

Tuesday, April 15, 2014   

RALEIGH, N.C. - It's a waiting game now for supporters and opponents of North Carolina's Racial Justice Act (RJA). On Monday, the state Supreme Court heard arguments in the cases of four defendants who were the only inmates removed from death row under the RJA.

The legislation was passed in 2009, but was overturned four years later. The four inmates' sentences were converted to life in prison without the possibility of parole because they were able to prove race was a factor in their jury selection. Now it's up to the state's highest court to decide if the ruling will hold.

Jay Ferguson represents three of the inmates.

"Having access to the new law was critical in these cases because it allowed us to see more evidence that the defendants didn't have at trial, evidence that had never seen the light of day until this hearing, like prosecutors' notes showing racial discrimination," Ferguson said.

Marcus Robinson, Tilmon Golphin, Quintel Augustine and Christina Walters were the first of approximately 150 North Carolina death row inmates to have their cases heard under the Racial Justice Act. Ferguson said it could take weeks or even months for the court to issue a ruling.

While Ferguson said he believes the justices will rule in the inmates' favor, he added it's unfortunate that the RJA isn't available for future inmates to argue that race was a factor in their sentencing.

"Now, once all this evidence sees the light of day, the Legislature decides to do away with the law, instead of trying to address the real issue, and that's the fact that race is playing a role in jury selection in capital cases," he said.

More than 100 other cases are pending that were filed before the law was repealed. After the RJA was passed, Michigan State University conducted an independent study and found that qualified black jurors in North Carolina were more than twice as likely as whites to be removed from juries by prosecutors.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


Data show Oak Ridge residents pay $2.67 million in taxes toward nuclear weapons programs. (fizkes/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Social Issues

play sound

This year's high school graduates will be eligible for 14,000 new scholarships offered through Opportunity Next Colorado, a $21 million investment …

The new law will apply only to future sales of Indiana farmland. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

Environment

play sound

Traffic deaths are trending higher in Minnesota this year after a decline the previous year. Groups pushing for safer roads are convinced a small …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021