Jul 14 2008
NAACP says people are dying simply because of their race
Senate Democrats are talking among themselves about trying to pass a measure aimed at addressing racial bias in death penalty cases. The House has already passed a bill that would allow murder defendants to use statistical evidence to suggest that race is a significant factor in prosecutors’ seeking the death penalty or in juries’ imposing it.
The state NAACP president is prodding senators to approve the measure. If Senate Democrats move forward with it, Republicans see a chance to get something they’ve been fighting for — a provision that may allow the state to resume executions. Executions have been stalled for more than a year partly because the Department of Correction cannot find doctors who will take part in them, as the law requires. Last year, the N.C. Medical Board adopted an ethics policy that forbids doctors from doing anything more than being present at executions.
Would they also be required to present statistics proving that more blacks commit violent crimes, so it follows that more of them are going to be convicted of murder in the first place?
I thought not. Statistics can be skewed to prove anything you want to prove.