From StarNewsOnline

In a system where justice is supposed to be blind, murder defendants accused of killing white victims are nearly three times as likely to be sentenced to death in North Carolina than if the victim was black.

In cases considered for capital punishment or that result in a death sentence in New Hanover County, the odds are even higher – six times as likely, said Raleigh attorney Sharon Smith citing a study done by two Michigan State University researchers.

The findings are documented in two new studies that many of the state’s 159 death row prisoners are expected to cite in an effort to show racial bias affected their cases.

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