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Juror in Georgia death penalty case: "Ive wondered if Black people even have souls"

T

theignoramus

Member
On September 26, Georgia intends to execute Keith Leroy Tharpe, who is black, for the murder of his estranged wife. According to Tharpe's attorneys, one juror signed an affidavit that distinguished between "Black folks" and "Niggers."
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The juror allegedly said that the victim and her family are "nice black folks" and that Tharpe "wasn't in the good black folks category in [his] book." The juror also apparently said that "ome of the jurors voted for death because they felt that Tharpe should be an example to other blacks who kill blacks, but that wasn't [his] reason." So, what was the reason then? "After studying the Bible, I have wondered if black people even have souls. . . . [L]ook at O.J. Simpson. That white woman wouldn't have been killed if she hadn't have married that black man."
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Dont stop reading, it gets worse from here:
Georgia law states that this type of affidavit is inadmissible because jurors are not permitted to impeach their verdicts. [Kate Brumback / AP]. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last term that "where a juror makes a clear statement that indicates he or she relied on racial stereotypes or animus to convict a criminal defendant, the Sixth Amendment requires that the no-impeachment rule give way in order to permit the trial court to consider the evidence of the juror's statement and any resulting denial of the jury trial guarantee." [Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado]
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Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Ashley Royal of the Northern District of Georgia denied Tharpe's motion to reconsider the integrity of his death sentence. The judge found that the Pena-Rodriguez decision does not apply retroactively to Tharpe's case. The judge also reasoned that there is no evidence that race was considered during the jury's deliberations. The judge also emphasized that the juror was possibly intoxicated when the racist statement was made, and that the juror claims that his statement had been misconstrued.
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20160616_judge_royal_bc_0198

(pictured here is George W Bush apointee and Senior District Court Judge Charles Ashley Royal)

Let's be clear:a US federal judge dismissed a gravely serious allegation of racial bias from a juror on the grounds that that juror's comments about "niggers" and "Black people having no souls" had been "misconstrued" and "possibly uttered under the influence."

America in 2017.

Tharpe may or may not be guilty, but like any criminal defendant, he should be tried by fair and impartial jurors, not neo-Confederates, White supremacists, or Nazis.

(lock if old)
http://us15.campaign-archive2.com/?u=8df91532e55f25ed5dd237f56&id=257593770b
 
N

Nepenthe

Member
Who's gonna be the intrepid viking to defend this shithead, and with what? Old age? Economic anxiety? Intoxicat--

The judge also emphasized that the juror was possibly intoxicated when the racist statement was made, and that the juror claims that his statement had been misconstrued.
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Well now.
 
L

Lord of Castamere

Member
Such a racist thing to say, especially considering that most of the extremely vile serial killers that I've researched in the US are white. That doesn't mean that white people have no souls, probably no one does but nonetheless, it just means that there are fucked up people in the world.

This man for sure deserves a fair trial.
 
A

Arcanus

Neo Member
Sometimes you come across something so disgusting that you can't help but stare at your screen in disbelief. This is one of those times. Fucking disgusting.
 
E

EGM1966

Member
I know the focus is the denial but I just can't get past the juror's comments.

Ironically I don't think anyone has a soul in terms of how its religiously defined but that's just how I see it scientifically: to believe people do have souls but figure black people probably don't because reasons is so, so revealing in terms of underlying beliefs.
 
R

RoyaleDuke

Banned
You know I wish I could say I'm shocked but I've literally heard people make this as a legitimate argument instead of it being what it is, racism.
 
H

Hypron

Member
That's why you shouldn't have the death penalty. You'll invariably get fuckwits like this deciding whether a person should die or not.
 
BeforeU

BeforeU

Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.
man this hatred, racism. Just makes my mind go nuts.

WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH SOME PEOPLE
 
P

pablito

Member
It's to the point where whenever I hear some awful thing, I'm just like "yup, of course they think that."

Sigh
 
DJ_Lae

DJ_Lae

Member
I'd love to know what he studied in the bible that led him to the conclusion that black people don't have souls.

At the same time, I don't really want to know. This is disgusting all around.
 
P

Pulgo1

Member
I'm physically nauseous. I spend my days trying to hide stories like this from my black fiance. She's constantly stressed and anxious, and it just seems like this country gets worse by the day.
 
A

AtomskEater

Member
MugiwaraCole said:
The South? My guy, this is America.

I almost hate that I laughed when he justified this line of thinking by singling out OJ Simpson as representative of the entire race. I mean, what the fuck.
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Right? Using that logic am I to infer that all B/W interracial couplings end with the white party being killed, and that they should have known better for coupling up with a "soulless black"?

That juror is nuts and a racist POS, but no surprise the judge comes to their defense.

The Jazz Cabbage Master said:
How many generations until these abhorrent concepts disappear?
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People will keep teaching this shit to their kids, and not enough (all) kids will grow up challenging those racist notions, so the cycle will likely continue forever.
 
B

Balphon

Member
Gleethor said:
No evidence that race was considered? Really?
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Every juror gave sworn testimony that it wasn't:

District Court Order said:
In addition to Gattie, the other ten jurors who were deposed testified that Tharpe's race was not discussed during deliberations, race played no part in their deliberations, no one used racial slurs during deliberations, and racial animus or bias was not a part of the deliberations. Tharpe tendered an affidavit from Tracy Simmons, the only juror who was not deposed, and he did not allege that race played any part in their deliberations or that anyone expressed racial animus or bias during deliberations.
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It's arguable how compelling that fact is given how flagrantly and casually racist Gattie (the juror in question) clearly is based on the statements in his original affidavit, however. I also don't understand the argument that the original affidavit should be viewed with diminished importance given that he was drunk and unaware his statements would be used in court. If anything you'd think that would make them more illuminating as to his actual beliefs. Hell, the order even quotes Gattie as saying he got drunk every weekend.

caliph95 said:
I'm not American or a law expert

But aren't you supposed to get to keep people like this
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Jury selection is an adversarial process. The fundamental basis of this appeal is that Tharpe's attorney should have been able to discover Gattie was racist and get him dismissed from the jury for cause.
 
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