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Senators to Consider Repealing Racial Justice Act

State lawmakers are back in Raleigh today. They'll discuss repealing the Racial Justice Act.

 Senate Republicans have scheduled a committee meeting to consider repealing a law passed in 2009 that gives prisoners on death row another way to challenge their sentences. The law allows people facing the death penalty to present evidence of racial bias in court. The North Carolina House has already passed a bill to repeal the Act, so it's now up to lawmakers in the Senate whether to move forward. The North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys has asked the Senate to eliminate the Racial Justice Act. But defense lawyers and civil rights groups want it to remain state law.

Jessica Jones covers both the legislature in Raleigh and politics across the state. Before her current assignment, Jessica was given the responsibility to open up WUNC's first Greensboro Bureau at the Triad Stage in 2009. She's a seasoned public radio reporter who's covered everything from education to immigration, and she's a regular contributor to NPR's news programs. Jessica started her career in journalism in Egypt, where she freelanced for international print and radio outlets. After stints in Washington, D.C. with Voice of America and NPR, Jessica joined the staff of WUNC in 1999. She is a graduate of Yale University.
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