Thirty years ago, Timothy
Tyrone Foster, a black man, was found guilty of molesting and killing a
79-year-old white woman. He was sentenced to death, though that execution has
not been carried out.
Now, following a Supreme Court
ruling, Foster has a chance at another trial, because the Supreme Court ruled
that the
prosecution intentionally kept black jurors off of the jury.
According to the court’s
ruling, which seven of the eight justices supported, the prosecutors made a
concerted effort to keep black people off the jury. This strategy resulted in
an all-white jury for a trial in Georgia.
One black women was briefly
considered, but was excused because she was supposedly too close in age to the
defendant, but she was 34 while he was only 18.
The prosecution’s file
contained several notes that specifically outlined a plan to prevent black
citizens from sitting on the jury. The prosecution’s plan prevented Foster from
being tried by a jury of his peers and it prevented black citizens from participating
in the justice system.
 |
| Prosecution
notes prove racial bias influenced jury selection in the murder trial of
Timothy Tyrone Foster. Photo: Death Penalty Info. |
This ruling is an important one
and could have a significant impact on the justice system. A number of black
inmates, on death row or otherwise incarcerated, could be in prison simply
because of race.
Biased jury selection is a
serious problem. It allows the prosecution or defense to unfairly influence the
outcome of the trial. They try to get jurors who will side with them despite
the evidence. This practice is especially helpful in trials where a conviction
might otherwise be impossible due to a lack of evidence.
Part of the problem is that
lawyers can excuse jurors without reason during the selection process, which is
how they were able to empanel an all-white jury in Foster’s case. There had been
hope that the Supreme Court would limit lawyers’ ability to do this, but the
ruling did not do so.
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