Yesterday, Anna Arceneaux of the ACLU's Capital Punishment Project argued before the Louisiana Supreme Court that the confederate flag outside the Caddo County Courthouse in Shreveport injects inherent racial bias into all court proceedings and is especially damaging in death penalty cases. Anna told the court:
The Confederate flag is viewed by many people as a symbol of white supremacy and racism, and its presence outside the courthouse represents the legacy of lynching, terror and oppression of the African-American race. Flying the flag outside the courthouse risks diminishing the trust of African-Americans in the criminal justice system and priming white jurors to view African-American defendants and victims as second-class citizens.
Last night, Rachel Maddow featured a segment about the flag and Carl Staples, a black potential juror who objected to the presence of the flag out side of the courtroom because, he said, it symbolizes the inherent racism that plagues the capital punishment system in Louisiana and the United States.
Do you remember the names of all the bosses you've ever had? What about the addresses of everywhere you've ever lived since birth?
