While I certainly do not condone the actions of a jury refusing to convict due to racial reasons(or any other thing to do with the person of the defendant), I am very concerned anytime anyone discusses placing controls on the jury decision.
I realize that what is described here as "a black jury refusing to convict a black defendant" and this is certainly wrong and technically, not really Jury Nullification per se. However, Jury Nullification has been under continual attack for so long that we need to be very cautious allowing this type of example to open the door for those who would remove Jury Nullification from our legal system. This tactic is not unlike those who take a sad story about a young child accidentally killing another child with a handgun and using that story to further their own anti-gun agenda.
On the day that we lose the rights of a jury to refuse enforcement of bad laws, we will have lost forever the "fourth and final check & balance" on our government.
Just be careful what you let slip by. I'm only trying to defend the rights to Jury Nullification.
Blacks today suffer far more crime from other blacks, than they do from whites. Unless there is some reason for them to believe racism is behind the charges, black jurors have no reason to be unusually lenient on black defendants.