A split 2-1 panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals has denied a Columbus County man’s attempt to have his murder conviction thrown out based on racial bias in jury selection.

This morning’s decision in State v. Campbell marks the second time the Appeals Court has rejected the claim from Antiwuan Tyrez Campbell, convicted in 2017 of murdering Allen Wilbur Davis Jr. The case had returned to the Appeals Court after the state Supreme Court ordered appellate judges to review the case again.

Campbell’s argument for racial bias rests on the fact that prosecutors used three of four “peremptory challenges” to remove potential African-American jurors. A peremptory challenge allows a lawyer to remove a juror without stating a reason.

Judges John Arrowood and Valerie Zachary agreed that nothing within the record indicated racial bias in the use of peremptory challenges. Judge Toby Hampson would have sent the case back to the trial court for further hearings on the issue.