This article is about a African American mans murder conviction that was appealed due to few African Americans in the jury pool. The African American man was found guilty by an all-white jury. Now, the Supreme court has to decide whether the mans constitutional rights were violated determining whether the murder conviction should be thrown out. I would like to read up on this to understand more.
Washington (AP) - The Supreme Court will decide whether a man's murder conviction should have been thrown out because there were too few African Americans in a county's jury pool in Michigan.
State officials are asking the high court to overturn a decision by the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
That court threw out the murder conviction of Diapolis Smith for shooting a man in Grand Rapids in 1991.
Smith, who is black, was found guilty by an all-white jury. He said his constitutional right to a jury that represents the community was violated because there were only three blacks in the pool of 60 to 100 prospective jurors.
He argued that Kent County's prospective jurors in 1993 were routinely excused because of child care, a lack of transportation or a conflict with work. Smith also said blacks in Grand Rapids were being diverted to jury duty in a city court, which took them off the rolls for a year.
Blacks in the city made up 85 percent of all blacks in the county.
The appeals court said those decisions resulted in fewer African-Americans being eligible for service on circuit court juries, calling it "systematic exclusion."
CNSNews.com
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I'd liek to think that race wouldnt matter when sending a man away for murder but sadly it is a consideration and real issue so hopefully they give him a new trial One would think theyd do somethign about it before it wen this far as soon as hey realized the jury were all white...
ReplyDeleteThe matter of race is still a big issue for some states; however I have some doubts about the jury, because It's hard to believe they were only few African American elegigle for service in a country where the black population is high. I hope the Supreme Court grants another trial with equally number of white and african people for the jury pool.
ReplyDeleteI am quite surprised to hear this story. This country has come a long way, however sadly racism is still very real among some narrow minded americans to this day. That being said, it is crucial to not only have an impartial jury, but to ensure there be an equal amount of people from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
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