Death penalty bias?

last updated 8 January 2015

Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Supreme Court this week overturned the 1986 conviction of a black Texas death-row inmate because of racial bias in the selection of his jury. Prosecutors had disqualified 10 of the 11 African-Americans in the jury pool, which the justices said threw into question the “very integrity” of the process. The Supreme Court ordered a new trial for the inmate, Thomas Miller-El, marking the fourth time in two years that the justices had intervened in Texas death penalty cases. David Dow of the Texas Innocence Network said it appeared that a “critical mass” of justices had “lost confidence” in the way the state metes out capital punishment. Texas executes more people than any other state.