We were just discussing the two brothers here in Atlanta who pleaded guilty to killing a dog and other charges. I mentioned the frightening side-effect that a Republican state congressman wants to change the law so that an 11-1 verdict is all that's needed to convict in a felony case. Well, check the following. This comes up every couple of years here in Georgia, and chills me in more ways than i can count.
Death penalty could be easier to impose Bill would allow execution if nine jurors agreed By CARLOS CAMPOS The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 01/30/07 A Gwinnett County jury in 2005 unanimously concluded that Wesley Harris kidnapped and murdered a 2-year-old girl and her mother, stuffed them in a trunk and set the car on fire. But only 10 of the 12 jurors voted to give Harris the death penalty, so his life was spared. Some Georgia legislators are hoping to change state law so people like Harris could be condemned to death even if only nine jurors agree on the sentence doing away with the unanimous jury requirement in death penalty cases. House Majority Whip Barry Fleming (R-Harlem) cites the Harris case in introducing House Bill 185. The bill, which was filed Friday, would give judges the discretion to impose the death sentence on nonunanimous jury verdicts in which at least nine jurors voted for execution. That means verdicts of 9-3, 10-2 and 11-1 could lead to a death sentence. HB 185 does not change the requirement of a unanimous jury needed for conviction. Prosecutors say the change will help them secure death penalty verdicts, which are increasingly difficult to get as questions mount over the imposition of capital punishment in the United States. Defense lawyers say such a change would put Georgia in a category of only a few states that allow elected judges to impose a death penalty without a unanimous verdict. Fleming said prosecutors, including the district attorney in Augusta near his hometown, sought the bill. He said that during jury selection some people will say they can impose the death penalty if necessary, but later refuse to do so on moral grounds. "People morally opposed to the death penalty obviously aren't opposed to fibbing," Fleming said Monday. Other key lawmakers, including House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons Island), have signed on to the bill. Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter cheered HB 185. His office tried the Harris case. "One juror said she could not vote to put another black man on death row and that was the end of that case," Porter said of the case. In interviews following the Harris verdict, one juror backed up Porter's assertion that the holdout was based on race, although other jurors said they weren't sure why the black woman held out. The other holdout was Asian. Harris was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Porter said he thinks in death penalty trials defense attorneys try to pick jurors based on race and gender who are less likely to impose capital punishment. Veteran death penalty attorney Jack Martin dismissed such claims by prosecutors as "urban myth." Martin did not represent Harris. Martin said there can be many reasons why jurors don't impose the death sentence: They might find something redeeming about the defendant; there might be a lingering question of guilt; there might be a mental illness that could help explain the crime. "Before you impose the ultimate sentence, there needs to be a consensus of the community not a majority," said Martin. Majority verdicts could allow minorities, particularly African-Americans, to be ignored during jury deliberations, he said."It would be venturing into uncharted waters under the U.S. and the Georgia Constitution," Martin said. Stephen Bright, a senior lawyer at the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights and a nationally recognized expert on death penalty law, said the bill represents a "marked" departure from current law. Juries in Alabama and Florida currently make only a recommendation on the death penalty, and the decision is ultimately up to the judge. In those states, the jury recommendation does not have to be unanimous. Bright said leaving the decision to elected judges in nonunanimous verdicts, as proposed in HB 185, is particularly troublesome. In other states, he said, judges have been more likely to choose the death penalty if there's an election coming up. "There are political considerations that are going to come into play that don't come into play when you have a largely anonymous jury ... and no one person is the lightning rod for the decision," Bright said. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/scifinoir2/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/