Annotated Bibliography On Competing Pressures And Complex Choices

Numerous rivals of the death penalty accept that the equity in the American lawful framework is blocked by the sentencing of dark Americans by a supremacist and one-sided jury. For instance, "if the killer is dark, it is more probable that he will get capital punishment than if the killer is white"

Baldus study was based on more than two thousand murder cases in Georgia, and “the study found that defendants charged with killing white victims received the death penalty eleven times more often than defendants charged with killing black victims.” (Alexander p.110) Baldus Study was significant to this chapter because it shows patterns of discrimination and how the government and police enforcement use race to harass African Americans.

Burnett, Cathleen. "Political and societal views on the death penalty." Human Quest. 01 Mar. 2003: 9. eLibrary. Web. 20 Jan. 2012.

Punishment and Inequality in America starts off by informing the reader of how much of a mass imprisonment problem we have here in America. The first chapter is riddled with statistics of who is being imprisoned, for what reasons are they being jailed, and inequality we see within our prison systems. Such statistics include that black men are six to eight times more likely to be in prison than whites, and that close to one-third of black high school dropouts were incarcerated in the year 2000. Although the statistics are eye-opening, it by no means explains to us why these numbers are the way they are. What Western does try and explain through these numbers is a what he refers to as the risk

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).

Alexander asserts that this mass incarceration is not a response to an actual surge in violent crime among the African-American community, but a calculated effort to offset the gains made by the civil rights movement—penalizing millions of African Americans behind bars, on probation or parole (mostly for non-violent offenses), and millions more with criminal records. Professor Alexander singles out the Nixon and Reagan administrations for particular criticism, for aligning the criminal justice system against the African-American community. “It’s easy to be completely unaware that this vast new system of racial and social control has emerged,” she says. “Unlike in Jim Crow days, there were no ‘whites only’ signs. This system is out of sight, out of mind.”

In the wake of the incidents that gave birth to the “black lives matter movement”, I feel compelled to base my paper on the Criminal Justice System, the history and current state, and reform that are needed to overhaul and transform the system into a rehabilitative and redemptive program. In light of this, the case of Ronald cotton caught my attention, a case that sheds light on all aspects of the system, and also exemplifies the principles of strength and resilience. On January 18, 1985, Ronald Cotton was sentenced to life in prison plus fifty years (Thompson-Cannino, Cotton, & Torneo, 2009). An innocent man’s life changed on that day, this does not minimize the fact that a woman was raped and violated and she picked the wrong guy in the lineup. This young man turned himself in, confident he had nothing to hide, but his world was shattered when he walked into the trap of fitting a profile of a lineup, he walked into a “Harsh and heavy-handed tactics” (Walters, Clark, Gingerich, & Meltzer, 2007) which the criminal justice system is notorious for by “treating offenders as subhuman entities that need punishment to change”, this method of processing and handling of criminals has been applauded by those who live by the creed “crime and punishment”. (Saleebey & Clark p.123). Therefore, delivering punishment via the criminal justice system in the United States is a truly complex social act in need of sweeping reform (Saleebey & Clark p.125).

The Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Sr., the former presidential candidate, writes “Legal Lynching The Death Penalty And American’s Future”. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., wrote this book in the company of his son Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., a United State congressman from Illinois since 1995, and Nation writer Bruce Shapiro a contributing editor at National and a national correspondent for Salon.com, and the professor at Yale University. In this book Jackson’s keep his moderated argument about the death penalty. There are nine chapters in this book, each chapter tackle a different facet of the argument. This

imprisoned in any other country.” What was not surprising was the fact that African Americans once again were the ones who were the most unfortunate, recording the highest imprisonment rate among all races and sexes. The numbers before the 1960s do not even compare to the numbers following. For example, numbers taken from the document show that 35 years before the 1960s, the number of American people imprisoned had increased by 52,249 people. However, the 35 years after, the same group had increased by a drastic 1,266,2435.

Socially, the institution of slavery allowed white slave owners to believe they had not only physical control, but physical and mental superiority over the slaves. With only a few exceptions, all slaves were Africans. This fact placed the label of inferiority on black skin.

In our modern society, many African American citizens have been suffering from racial oppression. The difficulties of blacks trying to undergo justice is overall, halting their lives and character as blacks. Understandably, many citizens have committed crimes to where a white citizen(s) or police officer have to intervene and take charge. Unquestionably, the stand your ground law is by far disregarded when trying to cultivate equity. The idea of abolishing race, the warrant of racism, remains illicit in our sociological imagination. Racial oppression is seen as a contribution to such difficulties, leaning toward the struggles of black youth. It seems as though, the actual physical death or the disintegration of one’s personal dignity plays a very big part in social issues such as stereotyping and racism.

Studies have also been carried out to explore whether the state’s chronological use of the death penalty to control African Americans has differentially affected African American and White support for capital punishment beyond a possible geographical divide. Past studies have shown that public opinion on national policy issues is shaped by distrust and opposition to government power (Hetherington and Globetti, 257; Kinder and Sanders; Kinder and Winter, 441). Various studies have concluded that groups are much less likely to support policies enacted by a government that they distrust, principally if past policies have negatively affected them (Hetherington and Globetti 259). In addition, Zimring argues that distrust of government should be

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.

While supporters of the death penalty thought that the death penalty could be applied without racial and class disparities, research conducted through the years have indicated that race and class disparities have shown not in isolated cases, but in many cases. The authors argue that “Public opinion on the death penalty show that while most Americans recognize the problem of race and class bias, they do not view such discrimination as a reason to oppose the death penalty” (Radelet & Borg, 2000, page 5).

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”