Supreme Court rules in favor of death row inmate in discrimination case
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of death row inmate Timothy Tyrone Foster on Monday in a case concerning racial discrimination in the jury selection process. Foster, a black man, is on death row in Georgia for the 1987 murder of an elderly white woman. An all-white jury convicted him after prosecutors unconstitutionally blocked African-American jurors from the trial.
The 7-1 verdict, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, reverses Foster's conviction. "The focus on race in the prosecution's file plainly demonstrates a concerted effort to keep black prospective jurors off the jury," Roberts wrote.
The court's lone black member, Justice Clarence Thomas, was the only voice of dissent. "Foster's new evidence does not justify this court's reassessment of who was telling the truth nearly three decades removed from voir dire," he said.
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The ruling will likely bolster arguments against the death penalty, which opponents claim is racially discriminatory, as unconstitutional practices have persisted even 30 years after the Supreme Court's ruling against such tactics in the jury selection process.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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