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Thread: Marcus Douglas Jones, Sr. - North Carolina

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    Marcus Douglas Jones, Sr. - North Carolina

    Facts of the Crime:

    The only white death row inmate from Onslow County, 63-year-old Marcus Douglas Jones Sr., has filed an RJA motion as well.

    Jones, who lived in Richlands at the time, was convicted in November 2000 and given two death sentences in the shooting deaths of his wife, Benita Jones, and his 14-year-old stepson, Marvin Chase Thomas, both white.

    On July 24, 1999, Jones used a 12-gauge shotgun to shoot and kill his wife and stepson, then shot himself in the face. When Onslow County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at Jones’ home in response to a 911 call, Jones answered the door. Deputy Robert Marshall testified that “when Mr. Jones opened the door, I noticed a large portion of his face appeared to be missing.”
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    Excerpt from Article:

    Jones’ RJA motion cites statistical evidence that prosecutors in the Fourth Prosecutorial District strike eligible black jury members at more than three and a half times the rate they strike eligible non-black jury members and that cases in Onslow County with at least one white victim are more than one and a half times more likely to be tried capitally and nearly four times more likely to result in a death sentence among eligible cases.

    Jones was tried by a jury composed of 11 white members, one black member and three white alternates.

    “I don’t know what race has got to do with this,” Onslow County District Attorney Dewey Hudson said. “He was white, the wife was white, the little boy was white. The jury sentenced him to death because of the horrendous crime he committed.”

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    A death row inmate from Onslow County has died of natural causes, according to prison officials.

    Marcus D. Jones Sr., 65, died Sunday morning at the Central Prison hospital, said Keith Acree, spokesman for the N.C. Department of Correction.

    Jones, who lived in Richlands at the time, was convicted in November 2000 and given 2 death sentences in the 1999 shooting deaths of his wife, Benita Jones, and his 14-year-old stepson, Marvin Chase Thomas.

    Marcus Jones also shot himself in the face, but survived.

    A deputy who responded to the call testified that “Mr. Jones opened the door, I noticed a large portion of his face appeared to be missing.”

    After more than a decade in on death row, Jones made news again in 2010 when he filed for an appeal based on the Racial Justice Act.

    Prosecutors said Jones' appeal was preposterous because he was white, his victims were white, the judge that presided over his trial was white and the jury that convicted him was made up of 11 white and one black juror.

    Jones' appeal is among those sited by lawyers as to why the RJA is flawed.

    (Source: The Jacksonville Daily News)
    An uninformed opponent is a dangerous opponent.

    "Y'all be makin shit up" ~ Markeith Loyd

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