you have any religious beliefs or personal beliefs against the death penalty? Ms. Colby: I am afraid personally but not—Mr. Plowman: Speak up, please. Ms. Colby: I am afraid of being a little personal, but definitely not religious. Mr. Plowman: Now, would that interfere with you sitting as a juror in this case? Ms. Colby: I am afraid it would. Mr. Plowman: You are afraid it would? Ms. Colby: yes, sir. Mr. Plowman: Would it interfere with judging the guilt or innocence of the defendant in this case? Ms. Colby: I think so. Mr. Plowman: You think it would? Ms. Colby: I think it would. Mr. Plowman: Your Honor, I would move for cause at this point. THE COURT: All right.Step down. She was excused from the jury. The Supreme Court ruled to overlook this as evident by the denial of appeal, almost rewriting the ruling given down by Witherspoon vs. Illinois, ultimately changing how jurors can be excused due to their opinions on the death penalty. Historical context The Supreme Court revised the standards set forth in Witherspoon with the standards provided by Wainwright v. Witt in terms of how a jury can become death qualified. "The Witt standard gave more discretion to the judge in death qualification. The judge decides whether the jurors' attitudes toward the death penalty would prevent or substantially impair their ability to decide on sentence fairly." The Witt outcome produced a more death qualified jury. A judge now needs to decide whether a juror's attitude toward the death penalty would alter his decision about guilt or innocence, unlike before, where the juror had to state that he would automatically vote guilty or not guilty due to his beliefs, in order to excuse him from the jury. A more death qualified jury affects many cases involving the death penalty in numerous ways. This is because studies show that African-Americans and other minority groups in the USA tend to be more opposed to the death penalty compared to Caucasians. Females also tend to be more opposed to the death penalty than males. Therefore, juries who are death qualified tend to have more white males than any other racial or ethnic group. A death qualified jury also creates a "conviction prone" jury as well. This is due to the fact that jurors who support the death penalty are generally less sympathetic toward the defendant. Results of numerous