race was the reason arbery was shot and killed. their decision to attack ahmaud arbery in their driveways because he was a black man running down the street. all of this raising questions about what a guilty or not guilty verdict could mean for black americans. joining us now yamiche alcindor and jonathan lemire. good morning. some stats and context on stand your ground laws, nationally the likelihood of a homicide being ruled justified is 281% greater when the defendant is white and the victim is black. in another study, 45% of cases involving a white shooter were ruled justified. just 11% when the shooter was black. those are the numbers. whatever the verdict in this trial, it will be viewed but that prism.
Alameda County s first Black public defender is trying to fix the problem with juries
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Alameda County Public Defender Brendon Woods, sitting on the steps of the county courthouse, is leading a local effort to make jury selection more representative.Yalonda M. James / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
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Since being appointed Alameda County’s first Black public defender in 2012, Brendon Woods has been outspoken on a number of issues of criminal justice reform, including America’s history of discriminatory jury selections.Yalonda M. James / The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
Brendon Woods started banging the drum for jury reform in 2018.
That was the year Alameda County’s first Black public defender spoke out against a Superior Court effort that would force residents to appear for jury duty at any courthouse in the county rather than the one closest to them. Woods said this would make jury participation harder for low-income Black and brown residents