ACLU: Death qualification would violate Raleigh man's constitutional rights
Brandon Hill is accused of shooting and killing a man at a Raleigh motel in 2016. But Hill's attorney said a death penalty case would violate Hill's constitutional rights.
Posted — UpdatedBrandon Hill is accused of shooting and killing a man at a Raleigh motel in 2016. But Hill's attorney said a death penalty case would violate Hill's constitutional rights.
With Hill set to go to trial as soon as September, his attorneys with the ACLU are trying to throw out the case before it begins.
Attorneys said the issue is the death qualification, which means potential jurors can be removed if they state that they oppose the death penalty.
The study found that death qualifications created less diverse juries, which were more likely to condemn a defendant to death.
In response, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman defended the county's jury selection practices, saying it's false to suggest there is a systematic effort to exclude individuals from serving as jurors based on race, gender or other categories.
The hearing will pick back up on Wednesday where a judge will either side with the ACLU and bar the death disqualification, but allow the capital case precede.
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