Providing the jury with such crime statistics appealed “to a particularly noxious strain of racial prejudice,” he wrote in the decision. The jury then decided Buck posed a “future danger” and sentenced him to death rather than life in prison. In Wednesday’s decision, Roberts said it was clear that race played a role in Buck’s sentencing. “Discrimination on the basis of race, odious in all aspects, is especially pernicious in the administration of justice,” he wrote, quoting a court decision from 1979. He said Buck’s behavior, not the racial crime data, probably persuaded jurors to impose a death sentence.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 22, 2017 22:30 UTC