Analysis Of Race And The Death Penalty

Racial injustice has always existed in the American criminal justice system (S. Steiker and M. Steiker, 243). This can be seen in recent years where constitutional campaigns on the abolishment of capital punishment were led by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s (NAACP) Legal Defense and Education Fund (S. Steiker and M.Steiker, 244). This is an organization that fights for equality of rights and to “eliminate race-based discrimination” (Our Mission). It demonstrates that there is an inequality in the treatment of races concerning the death penalty. In addition, according to the authors, they never found a

You brought up how jurors are more likely to find a defendant guilty when the defendant is a different race, and the victim is the same race as the juror, which creates a problem if race is being viewed as a primary factor in the case. Unfortunately, as we know, racial disparities are apparent throughout every phase of our justice system. For example, black individuals are three times as likely to have their cars searched by the police compared to their white counterparts, in addition to being more likely to be pulled over (Racial disparities, 2014). On a larger scale, racial disparities in sentencing decisions are also imposed much more harshly for black individuals than white individuals in the United States. Furthermore, black males in the

The injustice that comes from this prosecution isn’t taken as seriously as it should be, with it ruining lives of loved of victims and the victims themselves. A study by Katherine Beckett, details how jurors in Washington State were 3 times more likely to impose the death penalty to a person of color than a white person. Deaths that have included white victims make up 80% of Capital cases, while these victims only make up one half of all murder cases. By 2002, 12 cases of the defendant being white and the murder victim being black have been sent to the death penalty, while 178 cases of the defendant being black have been executed. Discrimination in a court of law that relates to the death penalty correlates directly with the prosecution and defense provided. 94.5% of elected prosecutors that reside in death penalty states are white, even going as far as 100% white in 9 states like Washington and Tennessee. These statistics showcase how the legal system is much more harsher and likely to punish people based on their skin

This essay will critique “Race, Capital Punishment, and the Cost of Murder” by M. Cholbi. The critique will discuss and point out some unnecessary concepts and flaws in the author’s argument along with logical fallacies. The author appeals for a moratorium among capital punishment due to racial disparities. This essay will analyze the author’s paper on the subject of race and capital punishment. The subject of capital punishment is controversial, as some citizens believe capital punishment is unconstitutional.

The United States of America, one of the most profound and progressive countries in the world, is also the only country in the Americas, to continued to use the death penalty as a punishment and execute its own people to prove that killing others is bad. Death Penalty continues to be a hot topic in the states with many people for and many others against the use of death as a form of punishment for criminals who commit first degree or aggravated murder. There are many factors that can place one at a disadvantage and increase the possibility of being sentenced to death penalty such as race, socioeconomic status, and geographical factors, among other potential reasons for the crimes that have been committed. The further capital punishment is investigated

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.

Forty-Five years ago, Arthur Goldberg and Alan Dershowitz described death penalty as "unusual" under the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, saying, "Most commentators describe the imposition of the death penalty as not only haphazard and capricious, but also discriminatory. "' Noting that capital punishment impacts "disadvantaged minorities,"' Goldberg and Dershowitz delivered a prescient message:

The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) found “a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in the charging, sentencing, and imposition of the death penalty.” Moreover, the study reached the conclusion that a defendant in a capital case was much more likely to be given the death sentence if the murder victim was white. Sadly, “the single most reliable predictor of whether someone will be sentenced to death is the race of the victim.”

Kent McKeever a white male, husband, father, attorney and youth minister, whose home is in Texas thought that he lived a pretty privileged life and wanted to experience how harsh and real, those who were underclass and less fortunate lived and the struggles that they had to deal with on a daily basis. Being privileged has some very positive outcomes and he really never had to deal with anything that would hold him back. He would always do very well and try hard, he just wanted a better understanding of why these people get treated so poorly. By doing this he would have a clearer understanding of the shame and humiliation that these people hold with them everywhere.

The death penalty is one of the most controversial issues on American soil. Blacks are more likely to face the death penalty than whites in the commission of identical crimes(CNN, 2014). The history of capital punishment dates back to the days before Christ. The Old Testament adage 'an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,' has survived throughout the ages despite the New Testament's rendition of 'thou shall not kill'. Today's American victims endure a more demure of style of cruel and unusual punishment; death by lethal injection has replaced the barbaric traditions of the past.

Also another study also say’s that, “The rate at which eligible black defendants were sentenced to death was nearly 40% higher than the rate for other eligible” (Dieter) This shows clearly also that the amount of black defendants sentenced to death is nearly 40% higher than any other person eligible,so that means that black defendants are most likely to get a death sentence than anybody else which shows that our judicial branch has some racism in its roots when it come to the death

While the topic can be overwhelming and complex, it is important to study the racist institution of the death penalty because execution is the ultimate expression of which individuals are valued by our society and which are considered dispensable. What the US expresses through its executions carries some racist undertones when we look at the races of the persons being executed, but it takes on a clearly racial direction when we consider the race of the original murder victim. For example, "the most comprehensive study of the death penalty found that killers of whites were eleven times more likely to be condemned to death than killers of African- Americans."3 On the flip side, "only 31 of the over 18,000 executions in this country's history involved a white person being punished for killing a Black person."4 In capital punishment, we find the modernday counterpart to lynching. Of course, lynching often meant sporadic acts of individual racism. Selective killing today is an official, bureaucratized act of the state and therefore an official statement of what our government stands for. And what the government stands for is the most complete disempowerment possible - death - for a large number of Black individuals.

Over the past forty-years, 1,421 executions have been conducted by thirty-one states and the federal government under the capital punishment sentence (“Facts About the Death Penalty”). Throughout those years however, controversial opinions have aroused on whether the capital punishment should be permitted, its success on reflecting a deterrent effect, and even its morality. Although it is often argued that Capital punishment is appropriate when the crime reaches an egregious extent, the revocation of constitutional securities, discrimination within race and income status, as well as the insufficiency to achieve a deterrent effect prevail over the validation of society’s ultimate punishment–the death penalty.

Race, social status, economic status, level of education, and location of crime are key in the selection of those to be executed. The fate of one man's life often depends on the whims and prejudgements of the jury he is granted. Only 0.3 % of those convinced of crimes eligible for capital punishment are sentenced to death. Of course, one may think it good that such a relatively small number of people are executed, but this number represents the frivolous inclination of the legal system. In fact, since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the United States in 1976, only five white persons have been executed for killing a black person. This tells the public that the value of their lives depends on their race and the jury's opinion of them. This sets back years of struggle for civil rights in the North America. Society suffers in the face of such and pre-dispose 'justice'. Besides being arbitrary in selection, once selected, the condemned must undergo a series of cruel and torturous events. The enforcement of capital punishment is a sadistic and macabre activity which appeals to the more grim aspects of human nature: wrath and malice. The condemned is told of his execution date and is then confined in a maximum security prison to await his execution. This is hardly a fitting punishment even if one believes that death is the answer. "For there to be an equivalence between criminal homicide and execution," Albert Camus wrote, "the death

The death penalty is systematically racist with studies showing African Americans having a stronger presence in our current judicial system than other minorities. The National Association of the Advancement of Colored People reports that “together African Americans and Hispanics comprised 58% all prisoners in 2008” (NAACP). Based solely on these statistics, readers cannot conclude that African Americans are living in a biased system. Additionally, The FBI Uniformed Crime Report shows that African Americans are responsible for a total of “2,491 murders” committed in 2013(Expanded Homicide Data Table 6); yet these statistics show that there is a strong possibility that sentencing, such as Capital Punishment, applies to a portion of the crimes committed by African Americans. However, there is a growing flaw in our judicial system, which makes relying on these statistics alone to justify why the death penalty is predominantly used in