A state Supreme Court review found that race does not...

A state Supreme Court review found that race does not matter when it comes to the death penalty in New Jersey, according to a report.
However, the study did find disparities existed when the race of the victim was considered. When whites are the victims, cases are more likely to involve the death penalty than when blacks are killed, the study showed.
Appellate Division Judge David S. Baime, who wrote the report, said where a case is heard might be the cause.
"A disproportionate number of minority victim cases are tried in counties with the lowest overall progression to penalty trial," Baime wrote.
New Jersey's death penalty laws require two phases in a trial, one to determine if a defendant is guilty and another to determine if the death penalty should be applied. Prosecutors appointed in each county make the decision to seek the death penalty for murders that meet at least one court-approved factor.
In 2002, the state Supreme Court agreed to have a special judge continue his review of questions about the fairness of the death penalty, particularly when the race of the condemned person or the victim is an issue.
The report is the second in a yearly statistical examination of how the state's death penalty is considered. Baime and a team of statisticians reviewed all the cases in which the death penalty is a possibility.
They examined 465 cases where the death penalty was an option.
Of the 142 cases where whites were defendants, 42 percent, or 60, went to the penalty phase of a trial.
In 270 cases where blacks were charged, 27 percent, or 72 went to that phase.
Hispanics were involved with 53 cases. Seventeen, or 32 percent, continued to the second phase.
Since at least 1992, the Supreme Court has reviewed each death sentence to determine if the penalty is appropriate. This review follows any appeal of the trial or conviction.