Jones proposes death penalty change

Republican attorney general candidate Sam Jones thinks he can make Missouri’s system of capital punishment safer. He calls his proposal the Missouri Racial Justice Act. Jones would allow a defendant to try and prove during pre-trial motions that he faces the death penalty because of his race or because of the race of his victim. The judge would either agree and make it a life-in-prison case, or allow it to continue as a death case. Jones says it would create a record at the time of the trial of any charges of racial bias, making later appeals more reliable. Jones adds he thinks the death penalty is already well-administered in the state.