Prosecutors used hip-hop lyrics to help sentence a man to death: ‘This only happens to rap music’

James Broadnax was a teenager when a jury convicted him of capital murder, with his rap lyrics presented as evidence he posed a threat of ‘future dangerousness’ James Broadnax has been locked up in a 6ft-by-10ft cell on death row in Texas for more than 16 years, and in that time he has developed coping mechanisms for passing the long and desolate days. A favourite technique is to write spoken word poetry at his cell desk. He becomes so engrossed in the creative process that he can lose himse...

By Ed Pilkington