Gov. Perdue vetoes repeal of Racial Justice Act

North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would have essentially repealed a 2009 law designed to address concerns of racial bias in death penalty cases, saying it is essential the legal process isn't tarnished by
prejudice.

Perdue, forced to wade into a controversial topic two weeks ago when the Republican-led Legislature approved the repeal bill, signed the Racial Justice Act into law shortly after taking office in 2009.

The Democratic governor said she's vetoing the bill "for the same reason that I signed the Racial Justice Act two years ago: it is simply unacceptable for racial prejudice to play a role in the imposition of the death penalty in North Carolina."

The law says a judge must reduce a death sentence to life in prison without parole if he determines racial bias was a significant factor to impose the penalty. It creates a new kind of court hearing where prisoners can use statistics to make their case to a judge.

Perdue said in a prepared statement she supports capital punishment and is committed to keeping it "a viable punishment option in North Carolina in appropriate cases." But she also said it's essential that the death penalty be carried out fairly because it's the ultimate punishment.

Prosecutors who pushed the repeal said the act would clog up the court system with new appeals, creating a permanent moratorium on  capital punishment.

Nearly all of the 158 prisoners currently on death row have filed papers under the Racial Justice Act.

Perdue rejected arguments from prosecutors that the 2009 law would allow some death-row inmates to be paroled after 20 years in prison if their crimes were committed before October 1994.

"Both my own legal counsel and legal experts from across the state have assured me that even if an inmate succeeds on a claim under the Racial Justice Act, his sole remedy is life in prison without the possibility of parole," Perdue said.

The North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys is disappointed with the governor's veto, which its president said "creates yet another de facto moratorium on the death penalty."

North Carolina has had an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment for several years because of various legal rulings, including ones involving execution procedures. The last execution in the state took place on Aug. 18, 2006, when Samuel R. Flippen was put to death for the murder of his 2-year-old stepdaughter.

"North Carolina citizens support the death penalty and do not support a moratorium," said District Attorney Susan Doyle, the conference president.

Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, criticized the veto for the same reason, saying Perdue "knows the Racial Justice Act and her veto are back-door bans on capital punishment."

The North Carolina chapter of the NAACP said that, with her veto, Perdue is "standing firm for more, not less, fairness and equality within our criminal justice system."

North Carolina's defense attorneys, the N.C. Advocates for Justice, praised the veto, as did the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. "The Racial Justice Act is a crucial safeguard against well-documented racial discrimination in our state's capital punishment system," said Sarah Preston, policy director for ACLU-NC.

A study by two law professors at Michigan State University found a defendant in North Carolina is 2.6 times more likely to be sentenced to death if at least one of the victims was white. The study also showed that of the 159 people on death row in the state at the time of the study, 31 had all-white juries and 38 had only
one person of color on the jury.

Perdue's decision means she must call the Legislature back to Raleigh by Jan. 8 to consider an override. Lawmakers may find that difficult to do, especially in the House, where it passed in June along party lines. Republicans are a few votes shy of a veto-proof majority in the chamber.

"I am disappointed in yet another decision by Gov. Perdue to put politics ahead of principle," House Speaker Thom Tillis, R-Mecklenburg, said in a prepared statement, adding "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."

The governor's veto came two days after she met with relatives of murder victims and victims of violent crimes at the Capitol building in Raleigh. Some of those relatives asked her to keep the act on the books.

"We applaud her for understanding that racially biased justice is not justice at all and for reaffirming that she values the lives and the safety of all citizens regardless of race," according to a statement from Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, which asked Perdue for a veto. 

North Carolina and Kentucky are the only states in the country with this type of law.

House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg) released the following statement today concerning Gov. Perdue’s veto: “I am disappointed in yet another decision by Governor Perdue to put politics ahead of principle.  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.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina issued the following statement following the veto:“We applaud Governor Perdue for vetoing a measure that ignores the role that race plays in death penalty cases in North Carolina,” said Sarah Preston, ACLU-NC Policy Director. “The Racial Justice Act is a crucial safeguard against well-documented racial discrimination in our state’s capital punishment system. We strongly urge members of the General Assembly to save this landmark law by sustaining the governor’s veto of SB 9.” 

Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation and Other Crime Victims issued the following statement: "We applaud Governor Beverly Perdue for the principled leadership she demonstrated today in vetoing Senate Bill 9.  We believe her action demonstrates that she carefully listened to murder victim family members with various views on the NC Racial Justice Act, considered the implications of her action for those family members and acted from a deep understanding of the kind of justice that murder victim family members want, need and deserve.  We applaud her for understanding that racially-biased justice is not justice at all and for reaffirming that she values the lives and the safety of all citizens regardless of race.  We call on members of the North Carolina House of Representatives to demonstrate the same principled leadership and valuing of the lives of all citizens regardless of race by upholding the Governor’s veto."