House Backs Appeal Of Death Sentences If Race Bias Is Issue
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The House of Representatives passed a major crime bill today after approving an amendment that would permit prisoners under death sentences to seek reversal of their sentences if they could produce evidence suggesting a pattern of racial discrimination in prior state cases. The House of Representatives passed a major crime bill today after approving an amendment that would permit prisoners under death sentences to seek reversal of their sentences if they could produce evidence suggesting a pattern of racial discrimination in prior state cases. The anti-discrimination measure, approved 218 to 186, would apply retroactively to existing death-penalty convictions and could have a profound effect on the country’s 2,400 death-row inmates, most of whom are black. ”Racism continues to be indigenous, not only in our society, but in our criminal-justice system,” said Representative Steny H. Hoyer, Democrat of Maryland. ”If you represent a black defendant, you know he is at greater risk than a white defendant.” More : query.nytimes.com |