It was recently brought to light that parts of Alabama have been excluding black people from jury service for almost 140 years, specifically those entailing the death penalty. Blacks who have personally been excluded have raised awareness for this pressing social inequality. Houston County has one of the highest death penalty sentencing in the nation. Prosecutor Douglas Valeska , who is also a district attorney in Houston County, has been accused of systematically and effectively excluding blacks and deeming them as second class citizens. The lawsuit has been filed by the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit group that provides legal support to prisoners unfairly treated by the system. Many prosecutors want people to sit on the jury who are so trusting of the police that they will not question the charges, and there's a presumption held by some that black people don't fit that definition. An Equal Justice Initiative lawyer has revealed that this discrimination over juries is very high because a large number of defendants in death penalty cases were themselves black.
A discovery of this proportion is not something that is surprising, but it is still shocking to learn that discrimination of this proportion has been kept in effect for so long by individuals with high-standing positions. The lawsuit against Douglas Valeska is pending at the moment, and what the verdict will be at this point is hard to predict. Are the jurors for his trial going to be fairly obtained, unlike the trials for so many death penalty victims? Or will the unjust vicious cycle just keep repeating under wraps? There are many depictions of what racism entails, but no matter what, there is a global understanding of what is right or wrong. This case grabbed the world’s attention because every society experiences some form of racial issues, even a well developed and seemingly equal nation such as America.
This is outrageous! I am glad that their is a lawsuit in place. It really saddens me that this type of direct discrimination to ethnic minorites (esp A.A) is still allowed in America. What is worse is that time by time it is African Americans who have to identify the problem and then act and go thru lawsuits. I believe the death penalty cases should be overturned and looked at again with a diverse jury.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that people still view blacks as "second class citizens". It really does not make any sense. It should not matter of the defendant is black, they should allow black people to be included in the jury. America isn't "equal" at all.
ReplyDeleteThis story isn't really shocking Alabama has been known for displaying their racism and their regard for human equality. I agree its not fair and the system is corrupt. They wouldn't let African Americans in on the cases where important life changing decisions would be made, and some of those involved with the sentencing may need to be questioned also. I'm pretty sure that the judges and District attorneys were aware of this occurring also and this should be further looked into.
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