Public defender claims Cole County prosecutor’s office favors all-white juries

A district public defender is making some serious allegations against the Cole County prosecutor.

On Tuesday, Justin Carver issued an open letter, stating a clear pattern has emerged from prosecutor Mark Richardson’s office favoring all-white juries.

Carver said of the seven cases his office tried against the prosecutor’s office in fiscal year 2016, no black person served on the jury.

“Whether this practice is because of conscious discrimination or not, the end result is the same,” said Carver. “The rights of potential jurors who want to serve on a jury and the rights of the accused are being violated.”

Carver pointed to the Western District Court of appeals overturning the State versus Lawrence Mosely Tuesday, claiming the reversal was because the prosecutor’s office improperly removed an African-American from the jury panel.

ABC 17 News tried to contact the prosecutor’s office, but it was after regular business hours. We will continue to follow up on this.