Affidavits signed by the former juror and Tharpe’s legal team attesting to the fact that juror racism influenced his trial were deemed inadmissible by state courts.
“One of the many ways that the death penalty system is irrevocably broken is the discriminatory way it is applied,” said Kristina Roth, senior program officer with Amnesty International USA. “Keith Tharpe’s case is a chilling example of how callous the state can be in matters of life and death. While the Supreme Court granted a temporary reprieve to Keith Tharpe, this cannot be allowed to happen again. Capital punishment is cruel and inhuman and should be left in the dustbin of history once and for all.”