Cumberland judge steps aside from Racial Justice Act cases
RALEIGH -- The chief resident Superior Court judge in Cumberland County agreed on Thursday to let another judge preside over hearing on four Racial Justice Act cases.
Judge James Ammons Jr. told attorneys for four death row inmates that he would ask the state Administrative Office of the Courts to appoint someone else to hear the prisoners’ claims that racial bias infected their cases and opportunity for fair trials.
But Ammons, a former Cumberland County prosecutor with family ties to state law enforcement officers, did not do so without first expressing his distaste for the recusal request.
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It was unclear how quickly a new judge would be appointed. Until then, a request from prosecutors to dismiss the cases will pend.
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