The Racial Justice Act of North Carolina "

Of those 142 death row inmates, 73 of the men were African American & there was 1 African American female. Those 74 African American death row inmates made up 52 % of the death row population in NC. These facts are important to show the necessity of the Racial Justice Act of North Carolina. The death row demographic of North Carolina at the time of this was as follows:.
             Death Row Demographics.
              .
             Male.
             Female.
             White.
             56.
             1.
             Black.
             73.
             1.
             Indian.
             7.
             Other.
             4.
              .
              .
              .
             Totals.
             140.
             2.
             These facts are important because even though African Americans only make up 22% of the population of North Carolina, they make up more than half the North Carolina death row population. This type of racial disparity was the exact reason why people felt the Racial Justice Act was needed. I think that the Democratic led legislature had the best interest of all the citizens of North Carolina at heart but the way some of the legislation was worded, made it easier for Republicans to oppose it. Republicans felt like it was giving convicted individuals a free pass at trying to get their death sentence commuted to life without the possibility of parole. They also felt that it was a great waste of taxpayers' money. Some also felt that it was just a way to keep the court system tied up in unnecessary cases. .
             The Racial Justice Act of North Carolina narrowly passed through the North Carolina House Judiciary I Committee with a vote of 7-6 in favor of this cause (Saldaña). This bill would be useful to defendants that had proof that their race was a factor in them receiving the death penalty, but proving that would deem difficult. The death row defendants would have present evidence that would fall into three categories. Those three categories were 1) Evidence that shows that the death sentence was sought out or imposed more frequently on defendants of one race more than another race, 2) Evidence that shows that the death sentences were sought out or imposed more frequently on the behalf of victims of one race more than another race, or 3) Evidence that shows that race was a primary or significant factor in a prosecutors' decision to exercise peremptory strikes during the process of selecting a jury ( Ahn ).