Media Advisory: NC NAACP to Hold News Conference Following First Racial Justice Act Ruling

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 18, 2012

For More Information:           Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II, President, 919-394-8137

                                                Ms. Amina J. Turner, Executive Director, 919-682-4700

          Atty. Jennifer Marsh, Legal Redress Coordinator,

      919-682-4700

NC NAACP and Partners to Hold News Conference Following First Racial Justice Act Ruling

(DURHAM) - Superior Court Judge Gregory Weeks will announce his ruling in the first North Carolina Racial Justice Act case, State of NC v. Marcus Robinson, at 10:00 am, Friday, April 20, 2012, at the Cumberland County Courthouse. Immediately following the ruling, a press conference will be held with Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, President of the NC NAACP, Darryl Hunt, an exoneree from Winston-Salem and founder of the Darryl Hunt Project for Freedom and Justice and other members of the NC Coalition for a Moratorium.

This ruling is the culmination of the first hearing under the two-year-old groundbreaking Racial Justice Act (RJA). On Friday, Marcus Robinson becomes the first death row inmate to have a judge determine whether race played a role in his death sentence under this new legislation.

The Racial Justice Act's sole purpose is to attempt to ensure race does not play a role in the application of a death sentence. The RJA is recognized nationally as the most progressive death penalty legislation in the South.

###

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.