Well in 39 of the states anyway. Apologies in advance for a record-length post. But I know a few of you will read it, so it seems worth it. The words that follow are courtesy of Amnesty International - it seems like half of the cases they send me these days come out of the US. If you want to do anything about the specific case, see bottom of the post.

Michael Sexton is scheduled to be executed in North Carolina on 9 November 2000. He was convicted in 1991 of the rape and murder of Kimberly Crews, committed in Raleigh in August 1990.

Kimberly Crews was white. Michael Sexton is black and was condemned to death by a jury of 11 whites and one black. At jury selection, the prosecution removed the only other four African Americans in the jury pool by using peremptory strikes, the right to exclude individuals deemed to be unsuitable without giving a reason. Asked to explain such use of peremptory strikes, the prosecutor said that one of the blacks had not maintained eye contact and "was not forthcoming"; another was "not mature" because of "the way he was dressed", including an earring; and another was rejected as "litigious", having witnessed an accident that resulted in a lawsuit.

Under US constitutional law jurors can only be removed for "race neutral" reasons (Batson v Kentucky, 1986). To win an appeal on this issue, the defendant must show that "purposeful discrimination" took place. Amnesty International believes that the Batson decision has failed to prevent racial bias in jury selection. Proving "purposeful discrimination" is nearly impossible, since prosecutors need only fabricate a vaguely plausible non-racial reason for dismissing potential jurors.

A North Carolina newspaper, The Charlotte Observer, recently investigated the death penalty in North and South Carolina. In a series of articles in September 2000, it concluded that the capital justice system was "tainted with mistakes, inequities and incompetence". It found that "minority defendants start out with an intolerable and indefensible disadvantage compared to white defendants... black citizens are under-represented on juries. Prosecutors often excuse potential black jurors because they are less likely to vote for a death penalty conviction." The paper also found that "blacks who kill whites are the most likely to get death sentences, while blacks who kill blacks are the least likely". It pointed out that about 40 per cent of murder victims in the Carolinas are white, but 70 per cent of the state's death row inmates were convicted of killing whites.

My emphasis on this next bit

Michael Sexton's background is typical of many on death row in the USA. He had a childhood of deprivation, abandonment and abuse. His father died when he was five. He and his two younger siblings were raised by an alcoholic mother, whose boyfriends abused the children. When Michael was 13, his nine-year-old sister was diagnosed with syphilis contracted from one of the men. Around this time Michael began to display aggressive behaviour at school. When he was about 14, he and his siblings were made wards of court on the grounds of parental neglect. Michael's brother and sister were placed in foster homes, but he was sent to a juvenile institution, and a year later placed in an orphanage. Social workers recommended that he be put in a program for emotionally disturbed children, but he was rejected because he was found not to be violent enough. His brother was accepted.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send faxes/express/airmail letters in English or your own language:

- acknowledging the seriousness of the crime, and expressing sympathy for the family and friends of Kimberly Crews;
- expressing concern that Michael Sexton was convicted by a jury from which all but one African American had been removed by the prosecution;
- expressing concern that this case fits a pattern of racial bias in the use of the death penalty in the USA;
- noting that there is a legislative committee currently investigating the impact of race in North Carolina's use of the death penalty;
- stating that it would be unconscionable for this execution to proceed when the condemned man could yet benefit from the committee's findings;
- urging the Governor to commute Michael Sexton's death sentence and to support a moratorium on executions in North Carolina.

APPEALS TO (Time difference = GMT minus 5 hrs / BST minus 6 hrs):

Governor James B. Hunt Jr. [Salutation: Dear Governor] Office of the Governor State Capitol, 116 West Jones St. Raleigh, NC 27603, USA Fax: 00 1 919 715 3175/001 919 733 2120

Thanks for your patience if you got this far, and hope Max/Joe and catters generally will forgive this indulgence of a personal interest!