The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
April 13, 2016

Georgia Executes Black Prisoner Despite Claims of Disability, Juror's Bias
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Georgia has executed an African-American man despite reports of possible
racial bias in the case. Kenneth Fults pleaded guilty in 1997 to killing
his 19-year-old neighbor, Cathy Bounds. His lawyers sought clemency for
Fults, saying he had an intellectual disability. Attorneys said his
trial lawyer failed to tell jurors about his disability and slept
through parts of the sentencing. One of the jurors who voted for Fults'
execution later used a racial slur to describe him. The juror told an
investigator, "Once he pled guilty, I knew I would vote for the death
penalty because that's what that (N-word) deserved." Fults' clemency
petition was rejected, and he died by lethal injection at 7:37 p.m. on
Tuesday.
Topics:Georgia Death Penalty

.