NORTH CAROLINA
RACIAL JUSTICE ACT (RJA)
The enterprise proposed by the RJA is a difficult
one. When our criminal justice system was
formed, African Americans were enslaved. Our
system of justice is still healing from the
lingering effects of slavery and Jim Crow. In
emerging from this painful history, it is more
comfortable to rest on the status quo and to be
satisfied with the progress already made. But
the RJA calls upon the justice system to do
more. The legislature has charged the Court
with the challenge of continuing our progress
away from the past.
--Judge Weeks, December 13, 2012
“Lingering Effects”
Statement from a Juror:
Bigotry influenced his decision to sentence Kenneth
Rouse to death.
All-White Juries
RJA Time Line








August 2009: RJA Signed into Law
August 2010: Most of Death Row Files
January 2012: First RJA Hearing – Robinson
April 2012: Robinson Wins
June 2012: Legislature Attempts Repeal
July 2012: RJA Significantly Amended
October 2012: Second RJA Hearing – 3 ∆s
December 2012: Defendants Win
Racial Justice Act
No person shall be subject to or given a
sentence of death or shall be executed
pursuant to any judgment that was sought or
obtained on the basis of race.
- § 15A-2010
§ 15A-2011(a) – The Standard
A finding that race was the basis of the decision
to seek or impose a death sentence may be
established if the court finds that race was a
significant factor in decisions to seek or impose
the sentence of death in the county, the
prosecutorial district, the judicial division, or the
State at the time the death sentence was sought
or imposed.
Three Kinds of Discrimination
1.
Death sentences were sought or imposed significantly
more frequently upon persons of one race than upon
persons of another race.
2.
Death sentences were sought or imposed significantly
more frequently as punishment for capital offenses
against persons of one race than as punishment of
capital offenses against persons of another race.
3.
Race was a significant factor in decisions to exercise
peremptory challenges during jury selection.
§15A-2012(a)(3) – The Relief
If the court finds that race was a significant factor in
decisions to seek or impose the sentence of death in the
county, the prosecutorial district, the judicial division,
or the State at the time the death sentence was sought
or imposed, the court shall order that a death sentence
not be sought, or that the death sentence imposed by
the judgment shall be vacated and the defendant re-
sentenced to life imprisonment without the
possibility of parole.
RJA Amendments

“Statistical evidence alone is insufficient to
establish that race was a significant factor. §15A2012(e).

Defendant must show “race was a significant
factor in decisions to seek or impose the death
penalty in the defendant’s case at the time the
death sentence was sought or imposed. §15A2012(a).
State of North Carolina
vs.
Golphin, Walters &
Augustine
Hearing begins October 1, 2012
Goes for nine days
Tilmon Golphin
Convicted in 1998 of the murders of Cumberland
County Deputy David Hathcock and NC
Highway Patrol Sgt. Edward Lowery
Christina Walters
Convicted in 2000 of the gang-initiation
murders of Tracy Lambert and Susan Moore
Quintel Augustine
Convicted in 2002 of the murder of Fayetteville
Police Officer Roy Gene Turner, Jr.
The Judge
Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Gregory Weeks
The Community
Issues

Was race a significant factor in the prosecutors’
exercise of peremptory challenges in:
North Carolina
 Cumberland County
 Defendants’ Cases

Witnesses







Shelagh Kenney, Attorney for Augustine & Walters
Calvin Colyer, Prosecutor of Golphin & Augustine
Margaret Russ, Prosecutor of all three ∆s
Barbara O’Brien – Jury Selection Study
George Woodworth – Statistics
Bryan Stevenson – History of discrimination
Transcript from Robinson Hearing
“Jury Strikes” Notes
“Jury Strikes” Notes Cont’d
“Jury Strikes” Notes Cont’d
Last Slide on “Jury Strikes” Notes
Other Prosecutor Notes
State’s Response
Prosecutors’ “race-neutral reasons” for
excluding African-Americans from juries:
•Race-Conscious
•Racially-Biased
•Preposterous
Prosecution “Cheat Sheet”
The Cheat Sheet in Action
If you had any doubt . . .
The Racial Justice Act
Study – Jury Selection
Catherine Grosso
Barbara O’Brien
Michigan State University College of Law
Strike Rate Ratio = 2.26 (56.0%÷24.8%)
Probability of disparity occurring in race-neutral selection process
Paired-sample t-test: p =
0.000000000000000000000000000000019058525628312154
(Less than 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000)
Statewide Average Rates of State Strikes
over Entire Study Period
Table 2
60%
56.0%
50%
40%
30%
24.8%
20%
10%
0%
Black Veniremembers
Other Veniremembers
Statewide Average of Rates of State Strikes
Tables 6 - 9
70%
60%
57.4%
54.7%
57.2%
56.4%
24.0%
25.0%
25.4%
50%
40%
30%
20%
25.9%
10%
0%
1990-1994 (n=42)
1995-1999 (n=80)
Black VM
2000-2004 (n=29)
Other VM
2005-2010 (n=15)
State Strikes by Counties
100%
Percentage of Jurors Struck
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Alamance (n=1)
Anson (n=1)
Ashe (n=1)
Beaufort (n=1)
Bertie (n=2)
Bladen (n=1)
Black VM
67.67%
62.50%
50.00%
62.50%
54.73%
33.33%
72.12%
56.88%
50.00%
66.67%
Other VM
25.71%
13.33%
31.71%
27.03%
14.17%
26.32%
23.24%
30.64%
25.00%
28.21%
2.6
4.7
1.6
2.3
3.9
1.3
3.1
1.9
2.0
2.4
Strike Ratio
Brunswick (n=2) Buncombe (n=9) Cabarrus (n=1)
Camden (n=1)
State Strikes by Counties
100%
90%
Percentage of Jurors Struck
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Caswell (n=1)
Catawba (n=1) Columbus (n=1)
Craven (n=3)
Cumberland
(n=11)
Davidson (n=3)
Davie (n=4)
Durham (n=1)
Forsyth (n=13)
Gaston (n=7)
Black VM
42.11%
25.00%
58.33%
61.11%
52.69%
77.78%
54.17%
50.00%
54.17%
37.31%
Other VM
33.33%
33.87%
20.00%
20.43%
20.48%
31.33%
24.51%
17.86%
24.41%
31.74%
1.3
0.7
2.9
3.0
2.6
2.5
2.2
2.8
2.2
1.2
Strike Ratio
State Strikes by Counties
100%
90%
Percentage of Jurors Struck
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Gates (n=2)
Guilford (n=4)
Halifax (n=2)
Harnett (n=5)
Hertford (n=1)
Hoke (n=1)
Iredell (n=2)
Johnston (n=7)
Lenoir (n=1)
Martin (n=1)
Black VM
38.39%
45.58%
47.43%
42.97%
50.00%
36.36%
87.50%
52.38%
44.40%
88.89%
Other VM
20.87%
23.17%
9.02%
26.79%
23.81%
25.81%
27.18%
28.23%
28.57%
6.45%
1.8
2.0
5.3
1.6
2.1
1.4
3.2
1.9
1.6
13.8
Strike Ratio
State Strikes by Counties
100%
90%
Percentage of Jurors Struck
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Mecklenburg
(n=5)
Montgomery
(n=1)
Moore (n=2)
Nash (n=1)
New Hanover
(n=4)
Northhampton
(n=2)
Onslow (n=3)
Pender (n=1)
Pitt (n=3)
Polk (n=2)
Black VM
56.36%
33.33%
25.00%
30.00%
54.05%
41.67%
69.44%
66.67%
59.72%
0.00%
Other VM
27.04%
32.35%
32.98%
27.78%
27.79%
17.26%
18.63%
23.68%
18.26%
33.75%
2.1
1.0
0.8
1.1
1.9
2.4
3.7
2.8
3.3
0.0
Strike Ratio
State Strikes by Counties
100%
Percentage of Jurors Struck
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Randolph (n=7) Richmond (n=1) Robeson (n=5)
Rockingham
(n=2)
Rowan (n=3)
Rutherford (n=3) Sampson (n=3)
Scotland (n=1)
Stanly (n=2)
Stokes (n=1)
Black VM
77.38%
71.43%
56.00%
62.50%
44.44%
70.00%
73.94%
45.45%
100.00%
0.00%
Other VM
27.82%
20.00%
21.43%
25.68%
24.69%
30.63%
19.43%
36.36%
26.91%
31.71%
2.8
3.6
2.6
2.4
1.8
2.3
3.8
1.3
3.7
0.0
Strike Ratio
State Strikes by Counties
100%
Percentage of Jurors Struck
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Surry (n=1)
Union (n=3)
Wake (n=10)
Washington (n=1)
Wayne (n=5)
Wilson (n=3)
Black VM
100.00%
91.67%
61.50%
37.50%
63.92%
41.11%
Other VM
18.92%
27.01%
24.88%
18.18%
20.44%
13.93%
5.3
3.4
2.5
2.1
3.1
3.0
Strike Ratio
Statewide Strike Disparity
(Table 1) = 2.0
No Jury Strike Disparity=1.0
[T]he Court finds compelling empirical evidence
that race, not reservations about the death
penalty, not connections to the criminal justice
system, but race, drives prosecution decisions
about which citizens may participate in one of
the most important and visible aspects of
democratic government.
-- Judge Weeks, December 13, 2012
Strike Rate Ratios when Venire Members with Potential
Explanatory Variables Removed from Equation
3.0
2.5
2.1
2.0
2.0
2.1
2.1
2.1
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Death Penalty
Reservations
Unemployed VM
VM or Close
Other Accused
of Crime
VM knew a Trial
Participant
VM with Any
One of These
Characteristics
wqa
In the 1998 Cumberland County case of State v.
Golphin, the prosecutor struck African-American
venire member Freda Frink in part because Frink
had “mixed emotions” about the death penalty.
The transcript reveals that Frink stated she would
follow the law and consider both possible
punishments. Moreover, the prosecutor accepted
non-black venire member Alice Stephenson, who
expressed conflicting emotions about the death
penalty. Stephenson used the same “mixed
emotions” phrase Frink had used to describe her
feelings about the death penalty.
-- Judge Weeks, December 13, 2012
In the 2000 Cumberland County case of State v. Walters,
the prosecutor struck African-American venire members
Ellen Gardner and John Reeves in part because they both
had family members who were charged or convicted of
crimes. Gardner’s brother had been convicted of gun and
drug charges and received five years on house arrest.
Reeves’ grandson had a pending theft offense in
Fayetteville. Gardner and Reeves said nothing about these
pending charges would affect their ability to serve as
jurors. Significantly, the State accepted non-black venire
member Amelia Smith, whose brother was in jail for a
first-degree murder charge at the time of the jury selection
proceeding.
-- Judge Weeks, December 13, 2012
In the 1995 Cumberland County case of State v. Meyer, the
prosecutor struck African-American venire member
Randy Mouton because he “had financial concerns about
serving as a juror and losing money because his child
support payments had increased.” The State passed nonblack venire member Terry Miller who stated he could
not give total attention to the case because of his work
for the military and dire situation in the Middle East.
-- Judge Weeks, December 13, 2012
Burmeister & Wright
The documentary and testimonial evidence of
former Cumberland County prosecutors showed
that race was a critical part of their jury selection
strategy. While typically Cumberland County
prosecutors disproportionately struck AfricanAmerican venire members in capital cases, in
two special cases, when they believed it was to
their tactical advantage to seat African-American
jurors, they did so.
-- Judge Weeks, December 13, 2012
White Soldiers Held in Killing Of 2 Blacks
AP
Published: December 09, 1995
Investigators charged a third Fort Bragg soldier today
in the slaying of a black couple who, the police say,
were gunned down on a downtown street by white
soldiers looking for blacks to harass.
Remember Cumberland Strike Rate?

Average of 2.6, higher than statewide average

In Golphin 2.0, Walters 3.55, Augustine 3.7

No case below 1.0
Burmeister & Wright
On the basis of statistics alone, Burmeister and
Wright are complete anomalies.
-- Judge Weeks, December 13, 2012
Burmeister: .5 – State struck nine whites and one
black
Wright: incalculable – State struck 10 whites and
no blacks
Maybe all the black jurors were pro-death
penalty and had no connections to crime . . .
WRONG
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