WASHINGTON, 20 FEB - La Corte Suprema degli Stati Uniti ha sospeso oggi l'esecuzione di un nero per poter chiarire se la sua condanna sia viziata da pregiudizi di carattere razziale.   Thomas Miller, anni, 50 domani doveva essere messo a morte con un'iniezione letale in un penitenziario del Texas. La  sospensione e' stata concessa da Antonin Scalia, uno dei piu' convinti sostenitori della pena capitale tra i nove giudici della Corte Suprema.

   Miller e' stato riconosciuto colpevole dell'uccisione del dipendente di un albergo durante una rapina a mano armata effettuata nel 1985 a Dallas.

   Il caso verra' discusso il prossimo ottobre e fino ad allora la sospensione restera' valida. Nel ricorso i difensori sostengono che all'epoca della condanna, alla procura di Dallas la prassi era quella di escludere i neri e altre minoranze etniche dalle giurie popolari.

A black man who contends prosecutors deliberately kept blacks off the jury at his murder trial in 1986 has been granted a stay of execution by the U.S. Supreme Court.Justice Antonin Scalia granted the reprieve Wednesday for Thomas Miller-El, whose case could be used by the Supreme Court to clarify rules for claiming racial discrimination in the selection of a jury.Miller-El, 50, who had been scheduled to die by injection on Thursday, was convicted in the 1985 robbery-slaying of a desk clerk at a hotel near the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.During jury selection, prosecutors used peremptory challenges, which allow lawyers to dismiss prospective jurors without explanation, to reject 10 of 11 blacks.The jury ultimately consisted of 9 whites, 1 Filipino, 1 Hispanic and 1 black.Miller-El's lawyer argued there was a long-standing discriminatory policy among Dallas County prosecutors.Texas authorities denied there was any discrimination and said much of the historical data was out of date or irrelevant.The high court said Friday it would hear Miller-El's appeal but did not halt the execution. It was up to the state to stop it on its own or for Miller-El's lawyers to ask the Supreme Court to do so separately. His lawyers filed such a request Tuesday.Miller-El had described the Thursday execution date as "beyond serious, somewhat certain.""After having 10 execution dates, I've learned to not really be optimistic until something occurs to cause me to be sincerely optimistic," he said.

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