Death Penalty Law Change in N.C.

It's official, North Carolina will become the second state in the United States that allows defendants to try to prove race was a significant factor in a death sentence or in a prosecutor seeking the death penalty.

Gov. Beverly Perdue signed the Racial Justice Act into law this morning. The General Assembly passed the law last week. Kentucky is the only other state that allows statistical evidence to establish racial bias by prosecutors seeking or jurors rendering the death penalty. The bill allows judges to consider whether statistical data show race was a key factor in putting a defendant on trial for his life or receiving a death penalty. A judge who agrees with the evidence could limit a sentence to life in prison without parole.