Feb 19, 2025 Story by: Editor
RALEIGH, N.C. – A North Carolina judge has determined that racial bias played an improper role in the jury selection process for Hasson Bacote, a Black man who contested his death sentence under the North Carolina Racial Justice Act (RJA). The ruling found evidence of discrimination not only in Bacote’s case but also in prosecutions led by North Carolina Assistant District Attorney Greg Butler, as well as in Johnston County and District 11. The court relied on statistical, cultural, historical, and social science evidence, in addition to legal records and case files. Consistent with prior rulings, the judge affirmed that the RJA does not require defendants to demonstrate discrimination specifically in their case, though Bacote was able to do so.
“This decision provides more definitive proof that capital prosecutions in North Carolina are tainted with racial bias and discrimination,” said Cassandra Stubbs, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Capital Punishment Project. “What we saw in Mr. Bacote’s case is that the more we look for evidence of discrimination in our state’s capital jury selection system, the more we find. This ruling creates a path to justice for the hundred-plus individuals who have filed claims and whose cases were similarly tainted with bias.”
Superior Court Judge Wayland J. Sermons Jr. determined that prosecutors in Bacote’s case dismissed Black jurors at a rate three times higher than white jurors. He also highlighted the use of racially coded language by prosecutors, referencing terms such as “thug,” “piece of trash,” and “predators of the African plain” to describe Black defendants.
Expressing his gratitude, Bacote stated, “I am deeply grateful to my family, my lawyers, the experts, and to everyone who fought for justice — not just in my case, but for so many others. I want to thank Bryan Stevenson in particular for showing how unfair the jury selection was in my case. When my death sentence was commuted by Governor Cooper, I felt enormous relief that the burden of the death penalty — and all of the stress and anxiety that go with it — were lifted off my shoulders. I am grateful to the court for having the courage to recognize that racial bias affected my case and so many others. I remain hopeful that the fight for truth and justice will not stop here.”
The ruling provides guidance and establishes key findings that could assist others on death row in pursuing RJA claims. On December 31, 2024, former Governor Roy Cooper commuted the sentences of 15 death row inmates, including Bacote. Despite his resentencing to life without parole, the judge proceeded with a ruling in Bacote’s case due to its broader significance for over 100 individuals with pending RJA claims.
“Racial discrimination in our courts and criminal legal system has long impacted death penalty sentencing,” said Ashley Burrell, senior counsel at the Legal Defense Fund. “Today’s ruling affirms what we have argued all along: racism infects the death penalty. We are hopeful that future decisions will result in relief under the RJA for other North Carolinians currently on death row.”
Enacted in 2009, the North Carolina Racial Justice Act allowed death row inmates to challenge their sentences if they could demonstrate that race influenced their trials. Those who succeeded in proving racial bias would be resentenced to life without parole. In 2012, four individuals in Cumberland County won RJA claims and were resentenced to life in prison. However, the state later vacated those decisions to allow prosecutors more time to respond to the broad allegations of systemic racial bias, though double jeopardy protections ensured their life sentences remained in place.
Although the RJA was repealed by the state legislature in 2013, a legal challenge led to a 2020 ruling by the North Carolina Supreme Court, which confirmed that individuals who had already filed claims under the act were still entitled to hearings. Bacote’s case was the first to move forward after this decision and became the first in North Carolina where a trial court ordered a statewide review of prosecution notes from jury selection in all capital trials since 1980.
“The sweeping evidence of discrimination in jury selection and the definitive conclusions by Judge Sermons vindicate the legislature’s decision to enact the Racial Justice Act in 2009,” said Gretchen M. Engel, executive director of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation. “The ruling creates an opportunity for leaders in North Carolina to turn the page on this shameful chapter for our state. At a minimum, Governor Stein and Attorney General Jackson should commit to addressing the failures of the criminal legal system and adopt policies that prevent this kind of discrimination in future death penalty cases.”
Bacote’s legal team includes the ACLU Capital Punishment Project, the ACLU of North Carolina, the Legal Defense Fund, the Center for Death Penalty Litigation, and attorneys Jay Ferguson and Henderson Hill. Source: ACLU
