WE NEED THESE FIVE LEGISLATORS TO VOTE TO SUSTAIN HER VETO!!!
Rep. William D. Brisson - 919-733-5772 or William.Brisson@ncleg.net
Rep. Dewey L. Hill - 919-733-5830 or Dewey.Hill@ncleg.net
Rep. Timothy L. Spear - 919-715-3029 or Tim.Spear@ncleg.net
Rep. James Crawford, Jr. - 919-733-5824 or Jim.Crawford@ncleg.net
Rep. Bill Owens - 919-733-0010 or Bill.Owens@ncleg.net
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June 26,2012
Dear Friends,
The state legislature has set its sights on repealing the Racial Justice Act. The landmark legislation, passed in 2009, allows death row inmates to challenge their sentence if they can prove evidence of racial bias. At the time of its passage, a full 60 percent of North Carolina's death row inmates were black in a state where African Americans make up roughly 20 percent of the population. And studies consistently find that the odds of receiving the death penalty in the state are higher if the victim was white.
Last week, the North Carolina state House gave final approval to a bill that would gut the Act and reverse the tide of justice for unduly sentenced inmates. If signed into law, the House's bill would make it significantly more difficult for defendants to prove racial bias.
The move is a backhanded attempt to bypass Governor Beverly Perdue's veto of a repeal effort last year. It is a direct attack on the broad, multi-racial coalition of organizations and legislators who helped pass the law just three years ago.
The North Carolina NAACP and our partners have fought back against every one of these attacks on communities of color and low-income communities. We are urging the Governor to veto their new repeal bill. We are calling on members of the NC General Assembly to sustain the veto and save the Racial Justice Act. But we can't do it alone.
We live in a state where seven men have been exonerated from death row; men who would have been murdered by the state if the system had only worked quicker. Five are black, one is Latino and one is white. ALL were charged with the murders of white victims.
One Superior Court Judge already ruled that the RJA is constitutional and another one ruled that intentional racial bias exists in our criminal justice system, affirming the urgent need for the RJA.
The state of North Carolina has developed a reputation as a progressive leader in the South.
But recent behavior by extremists in our legislature has shown that the state is now on a different path. Earlier this year, the legislature cut thousands of teachers and teacher assistant jobs over the protests of scores of public servants. The recent passage of Amendment One codified discrimination into the State Constitution. They even decimated the state's nationally recognized pre-kindergarten for low-income children. They've attacked voting rights, fought for by the blood, sweat and tears of our ancestors of all races.
This path is bad for the people of North Carolina, and it is bad for the state's reputation.
We will continue to protest loudly against these attacks and draw attention to the state's disparities.
We will not stand back as fringe elements attempt to drag our state backward in history.
Tell them to show the many African-Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and poor people that they care whether or not racism impacts the application of the death penalty on their families and communities.
Contact your state legislator - dial (919) 733-7928 or visit http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Representation/WhoRepresentsMe.html
CALL AND EMAIL the following key legislators below demanding they vote to sustain a veto of the RJA-repeal bill:
Rep. William D. Brisson - 919-733-5772 or William.Brisson@ncleg.net
Rep. Dewey L. Hill - 919-733-5830 or Dewey.Hill@ncleg.net
Rep. Timothy L. Spear - 919-715-3029 or Tim.Spear@ncleg.net
Rep. James W. Crawford, Jr. - 919-733-5824 or Jim.Crawford@ncleg.net
Rep. Bill Owens - 919-733-0010 or Bill.Owens@ncleg.net
Yours in the struggle,
Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, President
North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP
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