Governor vetoes repeal of Racial Justice Act

Gov. Bev Perdue announced Wednesday that she would veto Senate Bill 9, which would repeal most of the Racial Justice Act.

In a statement released by her office, Perdue acknowledged her support for the death penalty, but said racial prejudice should not play a part in the process. Here’s more from her statement:



The governor must now call legislators back into session, giving them the opportunity to vote on a potential override. No date has been set for such a session, but it would likely occur after the first of the year.

Rep. Joe Hackney praised Perdue for “taking a strong stand for justice with her veto.”

House Speaker Thom Tillis said he was “disappointed” by the decision:

“By vetoing this bill, the Governor has turned her back on the families of victims across this state and a vast majority of prosecutors who need every available resource to crack down on violent criminals.”


  1. Frances Jenkins

    December 14, 2011 at 7:28 pm

    Explain to me how this is justice. A white man rapes a white woman and shots her sister. The sister lives. He is white, jury is white, judge is white, DA is white.The rape was so brutal I cannot repeat the details. He has filed an appeal under the Racial Justice Act. If ever a person deserved to sit on a burnt stump in hell, this man does. Please Bev, enlighten this family how this is justice.

  2. gregflynn

    December 15, 2011 at 9:28 am

    A purpose of the review is to see if the claim is valid. The filing of an appeal is not itself a guarantee of getting off death row. It’s the start of a process to weed out the invalid claims of racial bias.

    For the record this hypothetical describes a rape and a shooting but no death. However, it still serves to highlight the fact that it generally takes more aggravating factors for a white man to be sent to death row than for a black man.

    There is hardly a murder trial that does not present statistics and probability in some form in evidence. Even DNA evidence is framed in terms of match probability, though to a higher degree of certainty than circumstantial evidence.

    Punishment should match the crime to a similar degree of certainty.

  3. Frances Jenkins

    December 15, 2011 at 10:42 pm

    The rape victim died from head trama.

  4. gregflynn

    December 16, 2011 at 8:28 am
