A Dead Man Is Good For Nothing

Overall, the United States prison system and society’s view of African Americans needs to change. People need to make sure that the mistakes society has made in the past do not repeat themselves. In order to fix many of the existing problems it is important to focus on reforming the prison system. Doing so would prevent many future cases of injustice and racial

There is also a large disparity between races when it comes to sentencing convicts to Death Row. Looking just at the federal death penalty data released by the Department of Justice between 1995 and 2000, 682 defendants were charged with death-eligible crimes. Out of those 682 defendants, the defendant was black 48% of the cases, Hispanic in 29% of the cases, and white in only 20% of the cases (Coker, 2003).

Human Rights Watch research shows that in every state, the proportion of blacks in prison exceeds, sometimes by a considerable amount, their proportion in the general population. In Minnesota and Iowa, blacks constitute a share of the prison population that is twelve times greater than their share of the state population. In eleven

The disproportionate numbers of African Americans in the prison system is a very serious issue, which is not usually discussed in its totality. However, it is quite important to address the matter because it ultimately will have an effect on African Americans as a whole.

At the prosecution stage, African Americans are subject to racially biased charges and plea agreements (TLC, 2011). African Americans are less likely to have their charges dismissed or reduced or to receive any kind of alternate sentencing than their white counterparts (TLC, 2011). In the last stage, the finding of guilt and sentencing, the decisions of jurors may be affected by race (Toth et al, 2008) African Americans receive racially discriminatory sentences from judges (TLC, 2011). A New York study from 1990 to 1992 revealed one-third of minorities would have receive a lesser sentence if they were treated the same as white and there would have been a 5 percent decrease in African Americans sent to prison during that time period if they had received the same probation privileges (TLC, 2011). African Americans receive death sentences more than whites who have committed similar crimes (Toth et al, 2008). Because of the unfair treatment from the beginning to the end of the justice system there is an over represented amount of African Americans in prison (Toth et al, 2008). Some of the problems faced by African Americans in prison are gangs, racial preferences given to whites, and unfair treatment by prison guards (Toth et al, 2008).

Duane Buck, a death row inmate, has served more than twenty one years for murdering his ex-girlfriend Debra Gardner and Kenneth Butler. He accused Kenneth for sleeping with Debra and also shot his stepsister in the chest, who survived. After shooting Kenneth, Gardner ran to the street and was chased until she was gunned down while her children watched. Even though the crime should be punished, bucks attorneys argue Mr. Buck was denied a fair trial. Walter Quijano, a psychologist, gave his testimony during the trial stating that Buck was more likely to be a future danger because of his racial color. What surprises everyone is that Buck’s defense lawyer was the one who called Quijano and evoke the testimony. Even though the racial testimony had no place in the trial it still didn’t justify whether they should throw out the death sentence. No racial testimony appeared to be in his early appeals due to his counsel’s impotence for introducing it. Still it was very believable because this was not the first case Quijano made a similar testimony that had violated an inmate’s constitutional rights. Bucks lawyers tried to use this information to fight for Buck but they were not successful because the courts ruled Buck had waited too long to raise the issue. The argument here is if Buck is

In Bryan Stevenson's book “Just Mercy”, he discussed how many people are put on death row. He is a real lawyer who had to deal with inmates who were put on death row even if they said they were innocent. It made him realize how bad our criminal justice system is. Injustice, racism, and socioeconomic statuses were the main huge reasons why some were executed. Wealthy, poor, having no criminal records or having a few; there will always be discrimination towards those who are black.

There are many socioeconomic factors missing which could explain the disproportionate representation of African-Americans on death row. Things such as their economic status, education level, and the condition of their families. As we have learned things like family, religion, and education are among the most influential social institutions. If these begin to breakdown, it

Buck is being sentenced for the death penalty because Texas law allows that if prosecutors can show that you pose a future danger to society you may be sentenced to death. Dr. Walter Quijanos’ testimony in the trials sentencing phase said “It’s a sad commentary that minorities, Hispanics and black people, are overrepresented in the criminal justice system.” (Liptak, NYT) In the petition for the Supreme Court to review, Bucks new lawyer said

Did you know that a black man born in 2001 has a 32% chance of spending a significant portion of his life behind bars? This is a fact that cannot be avoided any longer. Most of the population argues that the American Justice system is not fair because juries are often uninformed and there is too much racial, cultural, and religious prejudice.

The generally accepted perception amongst the white community that the Civil Rights movement created total equality amongst blacks and whites is a myth. There are currently one million African Americans incarcerated in our prison system today (nearly six times more than whites) and make up about half of the total prison population of 2.3 million in the U.S. (NAACP). This inherent racist culture encompasses not just our justice system, but our society as a whole, and is a gross misrepresentation of the United States, and our rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson). Although nearly 63% of black inmates serve life sentences and 1 million African Americans constitute nearly half of all inmates, programs such as the Sentencing Project are trying to find ways to create opportunities for fairer trials and equal sentences (US News).

To look closely at many of the mechanisms in American society is to observe the contradiction between constitutional equality and equality in practice. Several of these contradictions exist in the realm of racial equality. For example, Black s often get dealt an unfair hand in the criminal justice system. In The Real War on Crime, Steven Donziger explains,

Being sent to Death Row is the highest prosecution a criminal could be sentenced to and the process when determining of someone deserves a death sentence is a very bias decision. Since 1977 when capital punishment was restored there has been about 20,600 homicides and only about .7 death sentences for every 100 homicides has been given in the Cook county. The decision to impose a death sentence is not only based on the crime done but also the race of the victim. Attorneys at a state level has a less formal guide when giving death sentences. It is commonly seen how race plays a major role in the justice system. As apart of attorney protocol of determining if the death sentence is given it is seen black males will be given a higher sentence versus a white male even if the crimes where similar. In this article “Disparities on Death Row” published in Grumman points out the unjustness in the justice system. Through ethos, pathos, and logos Cornelia Grumman effectively persuades her audience to spread the issues of capital punishment assignment.

Capital punishment is an act that uses racism in many occasion. “According to [Justice Department] figures, nearly 80 percent of inmates on federal death row are Black, Hispanic, or from another minority group" (Campaign to End the Death Penalty). In fact racism is still going on today in the world including the United States. "The imposition of the death penalty is racially biased: Nearly 90% of persons executed were convicted of killing whites, although people of color make up over half of all homicide victims in the United States" (National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty). "Death row in the U.S. has always held a disproportionately large population of people of color relative to the general population" (ACLU Briefing Paper on the Death Penalty).

Racism has always been an issue in our society. Throughout history, minorities have been misrepresented in the justice system, especially in cases where the outcome is death. In early American History, blacks were hanged for breaking any informal laws. Back then, killings occurred without any type of dues process. In the 1960s the National Association for the Advancement of African Americans (NAACP) believed that African Americans received the death penalty more frequently than members of other groups. “According to data from Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), 55% of death row inmates are black or Hispanic”