December 14, 2011 5:50 PM
RALEIGH (AP) — 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 Beverly Perdue vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would have essentially repealed a 2009 law designed to address concerns of racial bias in death penalty cases, saying it is essential the legal process isn’t tarnished by prejudice.
Scott Thomas, district attorney for Craven, Carteret and Pamlico counties, said he and other prosecutors were disappointed with the veto. He said prosecutors across the state will work with members of the General Assembly to override the veto.
Perdue, forced to wade into the 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."
Thomas said prosecutors and murder victims’ families are disappointed with the Governor’s veto.
“We oppose all bias, but believe the law passed in 2009 is overly broad and ambiguous,” he said.
“We believe criminal cases should be decided based on the law and facts of a specific case, not statewide statistics.”
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http://www.newbernsj.com/news/perdue-102849-racial-repeal.html
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