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Man On Death Row Executed Despite Juror Bias

A black inmate on death row in Georgia was executed on Tuesday despite one of the jurors at his trial admitting racial bias. The Independent reports: Kenneth Fults was given a lethal injection of pentobarbital on Tuesday at a state prison in Jackson, Georgia. The 47-year-old pleaded guilty to shooting 19-year-old Cathy Bounds during a burglary in 1996 and was sentenced to death by a jury in 1997. In 2005, eight years after Fults’ sentencing, one of the jurors signed a sworn statement saying: “I don’t know if he ever killed anybody, but that n***** got just what should have happened. “Once he pleaded guilty, I knew I would vote for the death penalty because that’s what that n***** deserved.” The juror was asked if he had any racial prejudices before he was allowed to serve on the jury, and said no. The US Supreme Court rejected a last minute petition by Fults’ lawyer, which included the juror’s comments, to stay the execution on Tuesday. The Georgia Pardons and Parole had previously denied Fults’ petition for clemency on Monday. In addition to the juror’s admittance of racial bias, the petition also included concerns from three jurors about the fairness of [...]