A novel challenge to California’s death penalty could resonate in other states

California’s defense attorneys for years saw their Black and Latino clients sent to death row at a rate much higher than other defendants accused of the same crimes. The data showed that Black people were up to 8.7 times — and Latinos up to 6.2 times — more likely to be sentenced to death than others convicted of similar murder charges, according to academic studies. And those of all races were up to 8.8 times more likely to be condemned when at least one of the victims was White.

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