In a 120-page order, Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons also ruled that race was “a significant factor” in other death penalty cases brought by Greg Butler, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted Bacote, and by other prosecutors in the county and the prosecutorial district where the cases were tried.

On Friday, a Johnston County judge found that race played a significant role in the death penalty trial of Hasson Bacote, influencing the makeup of the jury along with the decision of the death sentence.