Thurgood Marshall

“ If a court fails to permit a defendant to take all reasonable steps to ensure impartial jury deliberations, it undermines the legitimacy of the capital sentencing process and of the legal system itself. By refusing to permit Potts to explore the jurors' prejudices with respect to parole, the court seriously undermined his fundamental right to an unbiased jury.
It is a commonplace that a criminal defendant (and the state) is entitled to a jury that will follow the law as embodied in the trial judge's instructions. ”

“ When the defendant is a member of a racial minority, the danger that a juror might be influenced by racial prejudice is of such significance that the defendant must be permitted to ferret out such prejudice on voir dire. ”

“ A similar situation is presented here, where several jurors, without prompting, suggested that they would consider parole in their deliberations and that they would do so notwithstanding contrary instruction by the court. It is certainly not unreasonable to suggest that other jurors might well have subscribed to a similar prejudice. Where the risk of prejudice is both great and manifest, it is an abuse of discretion for the trial court to prevent the defendant from inquiring into whether the jurors harbor such prejudice. ”