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AP
Convicted murderer Marcus Reymond Robinson has been spared the death penalty by a North Carolina judge who says race played a factor in jury selection in his case.
A North Carolina judge ruled Friday that racial discrimination played a role in sending a black man to death row for killing a white teenager in 1991, a groundbreaking decision rendered under the state's Racial Justice Act.
Cumberland County Superior Court Judge Greg Weeks said condemned inmate Marcus Robinson should be spared execution and instead serve a life sentence in prison without possibility of parole.
Weeks found that prosecutors deliberately excluded qualified black jurors from jury service in Robinson’s case, and said there was evidence this was happening in courts throughout the state.
Robinson’s case was the first to be heard under North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act, a 2009 law that allows prisoners facing execution and capital murder defendants to present evidence of racial bias, including statistics, in court.
Weeks' ruling is expected to be the first of many involving condemned North Carolina inmates. Those who win their claims can have their sentences converted to life in prison without parole. The Racial Justice Act cannot be used to set anyone free.
"The Racial Justice Act represents a landmark reform in capital sentencing in our state," Weeks said in Fayetteville on Friday, according to The Associated Press. "There are those who disagree with this, but it is the law."
Social justice advocates have long contended that racism has put convicted killers on death row unfairly.
North Carolina has 157 death-row inmates, more than half of whom are black. All but a few have filed to challenge their sentences under the Racial Justice Act. Robinson's case was the first to get a hearing before a judge.
Reading a summary of his ruling from the bench, Weeks said that “race was a materially, practically and statistically significant factor in the decision to exercise peremptory challenges during jury selection by prosecutors” at the time of Robinson’s trial. The judge added that the disparity was strong enough “as to support an inference of intentional discrimination."
Prosecutors said Friday they planned to appeal Weeks' decision.
Robinson, now 38, was sentenced to death for murdering 17-year-old Erik Torbblom in 1991 during a robbery. Robinson was 18 at the the time of the crime. The jury that sent him to death row him had nine whites, two blacks and one American Indian.
It was later shown that prosecutors removed 50 percent of all qualified black jurors from serving on his jury, but removed only 14.8 percent of all other jurors.
In the Racial Justice Act hearing, Weeks heard testimony from experts who said race was a significant factor in jury selection in North Carolina as prosecutors decided to challenge and eliminate black jurors much more often than whites.
A Michigan State University study of jury selection practices in North Carolina capital cases between 1990 and 2010 was introduced as evidence. The study concluded that prosecutors peremptorily struck black potential jurors at more than twice the rate they struck non-black jurors.
Video: Death penalty being rewritten across the country
The Center For Death Penalty Litigation, a Durham, N.C.-based nonprofit group that helps represent defendants accused or convicted of capital crimes, praised Weeks’ decision.
“This decision marks a new day for justice in North Carolina where the justice system acknowledges past discrimination and respects the rights of persons of all races to serve on juries,” the group said.
According to the center, 31 inmates on North Carolina’s death row were sentenced to death by all-white juries, and an additional 38 had juries with only one person of color.
"North Carolina’s Racial Justice Act has proven to be a powerful tool for shedding light on discrimination in the death penalty," said Cassandra Stubbs, staff attorney for the ACLU Capital Punishment Project and part of the legal team that represented Robinson during his almost three-week-long Racial Justice Act hearing. "For over 100 years, jury selection in capital cases has been plagued by racial discrimination against qualified African-American citizens. Today’s decision offers promise that change in this area, long overdue, is finally coming.”
The only other state to pass a Racial Justice Act is Kentucky, where the law allows challenges on a pre-trial basis rather than through appeals.
North Carolina, one of 34 states that still have the death penalty, has the nation’s sixth-largest death row, according to the ACLU.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
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@Sarah-3043284, You liberal white females crack me up. Please move to either Compton, Oakland, Detroit or South Chicago with you whole family and let Darwins law work its course. =)
Sarah wouldn't do that - she has only seen people of color on her TV screen and they make her laugh with their antics
This is disgusting! Our justice system is so messed up its almost beyond comprehension. This animal should have been put to death in 1991 after his trial.
I would like to know if Sarah-3043284 is a defense attorney?
A study from Michigan State - I would really heed that. So the guy did actually kill someone in a robbery but there were only 2 blacks on the jury so bleeding heart liberals don't like it. Let them know how you feel.
Center for Death Penalty Litigation Inc. | Suite 301 | 201 West Main Street Durham, North Carolina 27701-3228
Telephone: 919-956-9545 | Facsimile: 919-956-9547 | E-mail: cdpl@cdpl. org
It wasn't the fact that there were only 2 blacks on the jury. It was also the fact that they were challenged much more than any other type of jurist.
The Racial Justice Act sounds unconstitutional as it seems to empower race over peers.
Interesting question. Is there a conflict between this particular law and the Constitution?
It was brought about because it's been proven that the "justice" system was obviously biased against blacks ion one way or another. All it does is just review cases that may have a different outcome due to race.
Perhaps if the judge found this out there should be a new Trial
The man's jury was not a jury of his peers. To avoid this kind of problem, black defendants should have a jury consisting of all black members. Fact: No all black jury will convict a black person of a crime against a white person. Odds are against a jury with black members finding a white person not guilty of any crime. No all white jury will find a white person innocent of a crime against anyone based on race. Now let's have a new trial with a 12-member, all black jury.
That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard.
What was the percentage of population? Because you know what??? We are ALL his peers.
That's what MLK was pushing for.....you know.....everyone equal regardless of race.
I'll guarantee that if you look through the court records in each state you will find that there have been all white juries who have convicted whites. I'm not sure that you will find that there has been an all black jury based on their percentage of the total population so I can't say definatively that they would not convict a black person.
Jury selection is a pretty cut and dry process, and it doesn't take rocket science to figure out how it works. For the simpletons or intellectually challenged on this blog: 1) Jury notices go out to people in the community for prospective jury duty. 2) Various potential jurors are excused by the court because of illness, inability to be a jury etc. 3) Potential jurors show up for potential selection. 4) Both prosecution AND defense attorneys choos a jury with EACH having exclusions. 5) THEN, a jury is selected that ostensibly represents the "peers" of the defendant. 6) The defendant NEVER picks his/her own jury. Thus, the "Racial Justice Act" is anything but. justice". What it really is IS another effort to denigrate the ability of a state to prosecute death penalty cases with certain people. . It is also a RACIST act IF juries are regularly tampered with in favor of one race over another. Pure BS, not needed, another useless peice of legislation, and anyone that disagrees doesn't know anything about jurisprudence or our court system. I bet the author is running for office. Enough said.
Justice has been served!
Justice is rarely ever served - what happened here was a sentence being adjusted - I don't see spending life in prison with 3 hots, a cot, HD TV, Weight rooms, softball, basketball, and football as a means to serve justice - he killed someone and now he should die that's about as close as you can get to justice.
I don't see why our prisons have to have all of the things you mentioned other than 3 hots and a cot.
With "jury nullification" like in the o.j. case, we can't trust a black jury.
Race is absolutely fair game in the voir dire process. OJ Simpson got away with murder because of the racial makeup of his jury. Enough said.
Black on white crime in America is far worse than white on black crime is. The Blacks have made their own bed. You act, talk, dress, indulge in crimes, filthy talk to each other, to your women, come on, how do you expect to be treated? 13% of your race is responsible for 68% of some crimes... your going to get racially profiled. Start acting like good Americans and things will change.
You just want to discriminate against thugs. What is your problem? I bet you are a good citizen which is a threat to thugs.
I agree with you, picker....I mean, look at that Zimmerman guy here in Florida. We all sleep better knowing he's going to trial for killing the thug who attacked him
The death penalty is a deterrent! It is a FINAL deterrent to stop a murderer from killing another human. Parole,escape, and pardons are all possible for a killer! Might as well leave the cell door open, the blacks can leave first.
Then why did the rates grow at all?
@zieglo87. Why? Because the killers don't get executed, instead they can spend their lives in prison which is probably a better life than they had on the streets. If the death penalty is executed in a timely manner (for the victims) than the deterrent limits the possibility of escape, parole, pardon or just accidental release. There was a convicted double murderer that escaped Wednesday (he was caught today) that had a much greater chance of killing another human. If he had been given the death penalty (Kansas no longer has one) and it was executed within reasonable time. What are his chances of killing again? None,nadda, zero, zip!!!!! Deterrent works!
Well that will give him lifelong room and board. He had that before under the welfare system. If you carrry the idea that there must be a certain percentage of jurors like the defendant then you have to be sure you have a percentage of his religion, sexual beliefs, gender, race and probably financial status. All of those factors could be used to overturn a verdict. While we are at it let's add drug dealers since they" know how it be on the street for the bro." heaven forbid that we should have a jury that don't know where he be commin from or not understand his complete situation or what led him up to the event he's charged with, besides stupidity.
Judge weeks is a black judge. I wonder if race played a part in his decision? Just saying. Is not Zimmerman on trial because he is white? Point being if a black man had shot Trayvon and claimed the same defense would there have been an arrest? I think not. Where is the balance? Where is equal justice?
Ask Al and Jesse
Justice has turned into JUST US !
Let's be politically correct on this? It is not the color of your skin. It is the culture.
so next time when there's a white dude on trial for death sentence in NC, can they get an all black juries?
(alien) ---Read the article. The jury that convicted and sentenced this man to death was not all white. So what's your point???
Racial taint? Is that what you kids call that now? lol
My, aren't we wonderful people? We are so thoughtful and caring, not wanting to risk any appearance of injustice for this murdering piece of ... Pardon me while I go puke.
This judge should be removed. A jury heard all the evidence, found the man guilty, and recommended a sentence upheld by the original judge. Is this all because both the guilty party and the judge are black? Doesn't sound like "Equality" to me..Just sayin'...
Hell, you wanna save some money....I will do it free of charge!
WOW...
RFW
I guess Jake England and Alvin Watts won't be afforded this unjust law. Only in North Carolina could this happen.
Where's Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton on this case? Bbbbb..but Trayvon was shot by a white hispanic!
Now Judges are playing the race card! Remember Channon Christain and Chris Newsome !