( CNN ) -- A North Carolina judge set aside the death sentence of a convicted killer after concluding Friday that race played a role in the case , a landmark ruling that may call into question a number of death row cases in the state . The ruling by Cumberland County Superior Court Judge Gregory Weeks , the first under the state 's controversial Racial Justice Act , means that 38-year-old Marcus Robinson now faces life in prison without the possibility of parole . Robinson , who is black , was convicted of first-degree murder in 1994 . At the center of the judge 's ruling is a finding that prosecutors across the state participated in the practice of excluding potential black jurors . `` Robinson introduced a wealth of evidence showing the persistent , pervasive and distorting role of race in jury selection throughout North Carolina , '' Weeks wrote in his ruling . `` The evidence , largely unrebutted by the State , requires relief in his case and should serve as a clear signal of the need for reform in capital jury selection proceedings in the future . '' Weeks did not question whether the crime was committed by Robinson , who was convicted of killing a white , 17-year-old teen -- Erik Tornblom . Passed by the state Legislature and signed into law in 2009 , the Racial Justice Act states `` no person shall be subject to or given a sentence of death , or shall be executed pursuant to any judgment that was sought or obtained on the basis of race . '' Under the law , those with death sentences can appeal by using statistical analysis to prove race played a role in how their case was handled . The cornerstone of Robinson 's appeal is a Michigan State University study of jury selection in North Carolina in 1994 , the time during which Robinson was sentenced , that found prosecutors struck blacks from juries at a rate of more than 2-to-1 compared with whites . In the ruling , Weeks found that not only did prosecutors across the state intentionally use the race of a potential juror as a significant factor in decisions to exercise preemptory challenges -- the practice of striking somebody from a jury without explanation , but that the practice occurred in Robinson 's case . The North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys strongly disputed that race had anything to do with death sentences in effect across the state . `` While we respectfully disagree with Judge Weeks , we are not surprised by his ruling , '' the group said in a written statement . The group has been opposed to the Racial Justice Act , saying that cases should not be decided by generalized statistics presented years after a conviction . `` Capital cases reflect the most brutal and heinous offenders in our society . Whether the death penalty is an appropriate sentence for murderers should be addressed by our lawmakers in the General Assembly , not masked as claims ( of ) racism in our courts , '' the statement said . Robinson is among 157 death row inmates -- 83 blacks , 63 whites and 12 other ethnicities -- who filed appeals under the Racial Justice Act , according to records from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety . The NAACP in North Carolina , meanwhile , expressed their sympathies to the family of Robinson 's victim , while lauding the ruling . `` We take this moment to remind prosecutors and their staffs that the Racial Justice Act mentions the idea of training program , to help weed out racial bias as they exercise their broad discretion in capital cases , '' said the Rev . William J. Barber II , president of the NAACP in North Carolina . `` We encourage the Association of District Attorneys to take advantage of such training to drain some of the unconscious and conscious racial bias out of our courthouses . '' After Friday 's ruling , Robinson 's mother Shirley Burnes told CNN affiliate WTVD that her son expected Friday 's decision `` because it was true facts , and that 's it . '' She said she understood that the ruling could make way for other such successful appeals in North Carolina . `` This has been a hard long journey , '' Burnes said . `` And there are others out there who will be affected by this . '' CNN 's Joe Sutton contributed to this report .
Marcus Robinson was sentenced to death after being convicted of murder in 1994 . A judge calls race `` a significant factor '' in his death sentence and vacates it . Score: 6 `` sought or obtained on the basis of race '' District attorneys blast actions against the death penalty `` masked as claims racism ''