William Edwards: “The Racial Justice Act in this bill which would be stricken and which I oppose is also opposed by the National…”

“The Racial Justice Act in this bill which would be stricken and which I oppose is also opposed by the National Association of Attorneys General. I happen to have a letter signed by 32 of them individually. They strongly oppose the underlying Racial Justice Act. It is opposed by the National District Attorneys Association, the National Troopers Coalition, and the American Legislative Exchange Council, which is the largest body representing State legislators in this country. The reason why they oppose the underlying Racial Justice Act is very simple. They perceive, as I do, that it would effectively eliminate the death penalty in many, if not all, death penalty cases. It creates an inference of racial discrimination on the basis of death penalty statistics.”