Blake, Boles Favored 'Justice Act' Repeal

As of Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Legislative action to repeal the Racial Justice Act is before Gov. Beverly Perdue, who signed the bill into law two years ago.

Her office did not indicate on Tuesday whether she would sign or veto the new bill.

Repeal was a major piece of business before the Republican-dominated North Carolina General Assembly, which convened Sunday for a special session to take up a few remaining issues before the end of the calendar year.

However, an effort by the House to set a cap on the state gasoline tax fell by the wayside when the Senate adjourned at midnight Monday without taking action on the measure.

“We will look at it next year,” state Sen. Harris Blake said of the gas tax cap bill.

State Rep. Jamie Boles said he supported the tax bill, which would have capped the tax at 35 cents a gallon until July 1. The bill would have placed a temporary cap on increases scheduled automatically on Jan. 1 and July 1, based on a formula connected with the wholesale gas price.

The bill for the temporary cap was designed to help the flagging economy and put more money into the hands of consumers.

Both Moore County legislators supported repeal of the Racial Justice Act, which was strongly recommended by the state organization of district attorneys.

Boles said he had discussed the bill several times with Moore County District Attorney Maureen Krueger, who also favored the change.

“I felt pretty confident sticking with the bill we passed,” Blake said. “I really believe that we have moved beyond any racial bias in the courts.”

Blake said that with the existing technology and the time frame involved in the appeal process, the courts are in a position to set aside racial bias when it comes to meting out death sentences in capital cases.

Boles said the legislature’s action does not actually repeal the bill so much as it tweaks the statistical section of the bill adopted in 2009. The bill approved this week was the same bill adopted by the House at a previous session this year. This time the Senate voted to concur with the House.

The original bill allows a person sentenced to death to use statistical evidence of racial bias as part of the appeal process.

If the death row inmate successfully proves the case, then the inmate is not released but is sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors and other critics argued that the bill has attracted a rash of frivolous appeals with no basis in racial bias and has clogged the state appeal calendar. Among the complaints cited are some cases in which the Racial Justice Act has been used in appeals of cases of a white person killing another white person.

Among the bills before the House this week was a measure that would authorize counties to combine their health and social services departments in order to save administrative costs. This bill was requested by the N.C. Association of County Commissioners.

Boles was not certain whether the bill would emerge from committee before adjournment.

The House was scheduled to reconvene at noon Tuesday, but Boles was expecting the session to be brief with approval of an adjournment resolution the major item on the agenda.

Both Boles and Blake were in Raleigh Tuesday morning for committee meetings. Although the Senate had adjourned the night before, Blake was present for an oversight committee meeting.

The legislature is not scheduled to reconvene until May for its budget “short” session. The return may be earlier, since the legislative website indicates that the Senate may reconvene in mid-February.

Contact Florence Gilkeson at florence@thepilot.com.

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Toda 1 year, 5 months ago

The spin doctors at work in the legislature should have been the lead-in story. State House Representative Jamie Boles is quoted as saying, "he supported the tax bill, which would have capped the tax at 35 cents a gallon until July 1. The bill would have placed a temporary cap on increases scheduled automatically on Jan. 1 and July 1, based on a formula connected with the wholesale gas price."

What the Honorable Jamie Boles and Harris Blake failed to mention is that North Carolina ranked 9th in the Nation for the highest tax on gasoline. And they want to have two more increases in January and July. I might mention at this point that Boles and Blake are so called conservative Republicans. Please would someone explain conservative if in fact they keep dipping into our wallets? Here's how your next dollar for gas shakes out: North Carolina 35.3 state tax 18.4 federal tax 53.7 total tax is more than half of a dollar. 53.7 cents on a dollar to be exact. Boles and Blake may want to reconsider their professed conservative values before we all go bankrupt.

Here's your link: http://www.commonsensejunction.com/notes/gas-tax-rate.html

would someone please pass this on to Boles and Blake so they will be more the wiser when sticking their hands in our pockets!

cantstandya 1 year, 5 months ago

Toda Always appreciate your post since they are usually informative and save myself from doing much research,with so many government politicians with their hands in our pockets it's hard to find room for my own,thanks again for being a concerned citizan something lacking in our society these days.

I am a registered Republican and like so many politicians in office today were democrats. As most know in Poorer County, if you're not a republican one will not be elected to any position or office in this county. I am one of those who thinks for himself, and as I've said many times, I don't go along to get along. I don't or won't vote for any candidate just because a party or special interest group endorses someone for office. I wouldn't vote for Cain based on his moral values or lack there of.

I will run for State Senator to bring the infamous "puppy mill" bill back to committee. I think North Carolina should have a no tether law. Poorer County voted against an ordnance without thought for animals chained to trees, water bowls turned over, tied out during thunder storms and inclement weather.

I am of the opinion that the wealthy in this country have paid off congressional representatives for decades to change the language of the 68 thousand pages of tax code to benefit their self-serving interests. I would like to see a fair-tax so that taxation would be based on what one spends as opposed to what one earns. If you can afford an airplane, pay the tax when you purchase it. The system is broken, and the only way to start reconciling our government is to start with transparency. Stop half-truths or leaving out the important part of a conversation. Honesty in government for a change and no more self serving bills like the Honorable Jamie Boles ushered in for funeral homes to pry into personal insurance of a decedent.