For instance, appellate courts in Alabama found racial discrimination in jury selection in 25 Alabama death penalty cases since 1987. In some of the state’s counties, more than 75% of blacks were denied participating in capital punishment cases. In Houston County, where 27% of the population is African-American, half of the juries in death penalty cases were all white and in the rest there was only one black member.

 

The belief among some prosecutors is that predominantly black juries are less inclined to impose the death penalty.

 

It was found in South Carolina that one prosecutor had eliminated a black potential juror because he “shucked and jived” when he walked.

 

Another problem has to do with racial disparity in the criminal justice system. For example, in Houston County, Alabama, with its 27-percent black population, almost 94% of the police force is white. In Florida, Arkansas and Tennessee, there are no African-American district attorneys, and in Alabama, none of the state’s appellate judges is black.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Study Finds Blacks Blocked From Southern Juries (by Shaila Dewan, New York Times)

Illegal Racial Discrimination in Jury Selection: A Continuing Legacy (Equal Justice Initiative)