Lawmakers Override Perdue's Veto of Changes To Racial Justice Act

The North Carolina General Assembly has overridden Gov. Bev Perdue's veto of legislation that rolls back the 2009 Racial Justice Act. The law had given North Carolina's death row prisoners a method to seek a reduced sentence because of racial bias. The House voted Monday to override Perdue's veto. The vote came about 90 minutes after the Senate voted to override. The Racial Justice Act directs judges to reduce a sentence to life in prison if they find race was a significant factor in a convicted murderer receiving a death sentence or in the composition of jurors hearing a case. Many district attorneys and Republicans said the original law went too far. Now the scaled-back version is the law.