News / FJP Releases

May 28, 2026

FJP Applauds Supreme Court Decision Reinforcing Protections Against Racially Biased Jury Selection

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) applauded today’s United States Supreme Court decision in Pitchford v. Cain, a case involving allegations that prosecutors improperly excluded Black jurors from the death penalty trial of Terry Pitchford, a Black defendant. The Court concluded that Mr. Pitchford had been denied the opportunity to scrutinize the prosecutor’s actions and reaffirmed the importance of strict compliance with the constitutional process for evaluating claims of racial discrimination in jury selection.

“Today’s decision sends a clear message: prosecutors and courts must faithfully adhere to the constitutional prohibition against racial discrimination in jury selection and follow the required steps to resolve claims of discrimination,” said Preston Shipp, Chief Legal Counsel at Fair and Just Prosecution. “Prosecutors have a legal and ethical obligation to uphold the Constitution and ensure justice is administered equally, which depends on juries that are selected fairly and free from racial bias. When they abandon that duty by removing Black jurors for discriminatory reasons, and courts fail to scrutinize that racial discrimination, it undermines fair trials, excludes citizens from civic participation, compromises verdicts, and erodes public confidence in the judicial system, making us all less safe. The Supreme Court rightly reaffirmed that constitutional protections against racial discrimination must be meaningfully enforced, not treated as empty promises.”

May 14, 2026

Fair and Just Prosecution Firmly Opposes Georgia Law Singling Out Metro Atlanta Prosecutors and Communities

Fair and Just Prosecution firmly opposes Georgia House Bill 369, signed into law this week by Governor Brian Kemp, as an unconstitutional change in election law that uses artificially narrow classifications to target specific communities and elected officials, including district attorneys, without applying the same rules statewide.

“Prosecutors make some of the most consequential decisions in the justice system, which is why elections for these offices should be governed by consistent and transparent rules,” said FJP Executive Director Aramis Donell Ayala. “Georgia’s Constitution places clear limits on laws that impose different rules on a small subset of counties where a general law could apply statewide. HB 369 departs from that constitutional principle without a clear justification. The people in these communities elected leaders who reflect their priorities and values, and those choices deserve the same respect afforded to voters everywhere else in Georgia. When lawmakers draw lines this narrowly, the public is right to question whether the law serves a legitimate purpose or is intended to produce a preferred political outcome.”

March 31, 2026

FJP Files Brief Urging Colorado Supreme Court to End Ban on In-Person Jail Visits

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) and Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP), joined by a coalition of law enforcement leaders and justice system experts, filed an amicus brief urging the Colorado Supreme Court to review and reverse a lower court decision which allows Adams County, Colorado, to continue its ban on in-person visitation at the county jail.

Bans on in-person visits between incarcerated individuals and their loved ones undermine public safety and harm communities. Evidence from jurisdictions across the country shows that facilities that have eliminated in-person visits have seen increases in violence, disciplinary incidents, and mental health crises inside facilities. By contrast, jurisdictions that have restored visitation report safer conditions for both staff and incarcerated individuals. Research consistently shows that even limited in-person contact reduces recidivism and improves reentry outcomes.

“Criminal justice policies should be driven by what makes communities safer, not what squeezes profit from the need for human connection. A child’s desire to speak to their parent should never be seen as an opportunity for revenue,” said FJP Executive Director Aramis Donell Ayala. “The evidence is clear that in-person visits reduce violence, support mental health, and lead to safer reentry. Charging families for phone or video calls while eliminating in-person visits puts profit ahead of public safety and exploits vulnerable communities, deepening inequality and undermining fairness. It also erodes trust in the justice system, which is essential to keeping communities safe.”

March 13, 2026

Fair and Just Prosecution Condemns Texas’ Execution of Cedric Allen Ricks

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) condemns the execution of Cedric Allen Ricks by the State of Texas. FJP filed an amicus brief with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and then the United States Supreme Court in Ex Parte Cedric Allen Ricks, urging the Court to stay Mr. Ricks’s execution and grant habeas relief in light of newly disclosed evidence demonstrating racial discrimination in jury selection during Mr. Ricks’s capital trial. The United States Supreme Court denied hearing the appeal, and Mr. Ricks was executed on March 11, 2026. 

Executive Director Aramis Donell Ayala issued the following statement after Texas’ execution of Cedric Ricks:

“The death penalty does not prevent crime. It fails to deter violence and instead perpetuates it under the guise of justice. That failure is compounded in cases where the accused is denied the right to a fair trial by a jury of their peers. With this execution, the state of Texas killed an individual who did not receive the protections afforded to him under the Constitution. Such a result is both legally and morally unconscionable. A legal system that permits racial discrimination in jury selection in a rush to execute its citizens cannot claim legitimacy. Ensuring fair trials free from discrimination is the only path toward a justice system worthy of its name.”

March 4, 2026

FJP Urges Texas Court to Halt Execution and Confront Racial Discrimination in Capital Jury Selection

Fair and Just Prosecution (FJP) has filed an amicus brief with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Ex Parte Cedric Allen Ricks, urging the Court to grant habeas relief in light of newly disclosed evidence demonstrating racial discrimination in jury selection during Mr. Ricks’s capital trial.

Mr. Ricks is currently scheduled for execution on March 11, 2026.

Recently uncovered prosecutors’ jury selection notes provide stark evidence that Black prospective jurors were struck because of their race. Such conduct violates the United States Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Batson v. Kentucky, which prohibits the use of peremptory strikes to exclude jurors on the basis of race and establishes constitutional safeguards to prevent discrimination in jury selection.

“When racial discrimination shapes who sits on a jury, the result is not simply flawed, it is fundamentally unjust,” said FJP Executive Director Aramis Ayala. “Additionally, excluding individuals from service based on race not only violates their Equal Protection right to participate but also prevents communities from achieving full representation within this essential civic institution. When evidence demonstrates that racial discrimination tainted jury selection, courts have the obligation to set aside convictions secured through that unconstitutional discrimination.”