From Davis Vangaurd:
NATIONAL — The Batson v. Kentucky ruling, which prohibits prosecutors from rejecting potential jurors based on race, promised to curb wrongful convictions and protect the lives of many, particularly Black individuals caught in the criminal legal system. However, according to the Innocence Project, racially biased jury selection persists more than 40 years after the decision.
For historical context, Tommy Lee Walker, a Black 19-year-old man, was arrested and executed for the 1953 murder and rape of a white woman, Venice Parker. An all-white jury found Walker guilty despite the absence of physical evidence linking him to the crime and the presence of alibi witnesses, according to the Innocence Project.
Seventy years later, the Dallas County Commissioners Court ruled that Walker had been wrongfully executed and was innocent. Continue reading >>>
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