By Christopher Hemry Executive Editor, Vol. 24 Michigan courts are insidiously tedious in the way they secure all-white juries.[1]For serious cases, more than 60 potential jurors are brought to the court, and then 14 are randomly selected to sit in the jury box.[2] From there, they are subjected, one by one, to a litany of […]
jury selection
Rethinking Death Penalty Reform: The Case Against Death-qualified Juries
By Anonymous Associate Editor
Since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty through Gregg in 1976, racial bias has continued to pervade its administration.[1] 34.5% of defendants executed have been Black and 55.6% have been white,[2] despite the fact that only 13.3% of people in the U.S. identify as Black, while 77.1% identify as white.[3] I consider myself an abolitionist regarding the death penalty, as I do not think that it is justified for the state to kill a citizen in any circumstance. However, given these alarming statistics and the dire situation they illuminate, I find that efforts to reform the capital process to reduce racial disparity are also worthwhile. Reformers would do well to focus on the elimination of the death qualification process, as well as Eighth Amendment and Batson challenges to the death penalty.
UPDATE: Court recognizes racial discrimination in Foster, raises procedural concerns
By Matt Johnson Associate Editor, Vol. 21 The Supreme Court listened to oral arguments on Monday, November 2 for Foster v. Chatman, a case this author looked at in more detail in a previous piece. The case centers around Timothy Tyrone Foster, an African-American man who was eighteen years old when convicted of murder by […]
Reconsidering Batson: Supreme Court to review death sentence handed down by all-white jury
By Matt Johnson Associate Editor, Vol. 21 The right to a trial by a jury of one’s peers is a right afforded to all criminal defendants facing a sentence of six months or more. Yet in the aftermath of an unpopular decision, the composition of a jury is often viewed as a possible source of […]
