Homicide Victims In Capital Cases

Two professors from the University of British Columbia and the University of Michigan Law School, M. Marit Rehavi and Sonja B. Starr recently conducted a study that confirms that Black Americans receive a stricter punishment than White Americans. According to the study “Black Americans receive almost sixty percent longer prison sentences than white Americans who committed the same crime (NewsOne 1).” Dr. Rehavi and Dr. Starr gathered their data from fifty-eight thousand federal criminal cases and determined that the sentences that Black people received varied significantly from those given White people (NewsOne 2). Assistant Professor of Economics Dr.

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.

The study conducted by MSU examined jury selection as well as the decisions made by said juries. “The MSU study of capital charging and sentencing found that those who kill whites are more likely to get the death penalty than those who kill blacks. The MSU study found that a defendant is 2.6 times more likely to get the death penalty if the victim is white.” (ACLU). Following the study, North Carolina passed a law entitled the “Racial Justice Act”. This piece of legislature made it possible for inmates to appeal their sentences due to supposed racial profiling. Since the passing of the law last year, there have been 4 successful appeals. The law doesn’t guarantee that the whole sentence will be reversed; however, it puts in place a system that allows for flaws in the length/severity of the sentence to be readdressed. The passing of the law as well as the MSU study prove that although there are more minorities being charged for crimes, the charges are of ill-willed intentions.

Nearly 80 percent of murder victim in cases resulting in an execution have been white while 50 percent of murder victims are white 82 percent was found to influence the likelihood of being charged with capital murder or receiving the death penalty.Senator RussFeingold stated "we simply cannot say we live in a country that offers equal justice to all Americans when racial disparities plague the system by which our society imposes the ultimate punishment" (senator RussFeingold 108th congress 2003). A 2007 report concluded that one-third of African American death row inmates in Philadelphia would have received sentence of life improsement if they had not been African-American.In 1990, non-partisan US General Accounting found a pattern of evidence Indicating racial Disparities in the charging, sentencing, and imposition of death penalty (Feb 1,2001)."Justice is never advanced in the taking of a human life"(Writer Activist and Civil Rights Leader Coretta Scott King Feb7, 2006).

Statistics prove that for many years the death penalty has fallen disproportionately on racial minorities in the United States. For example, since 1930

After similar crimes are committed, in terms of severity, more serious life-long sentences are given to blacks than to privileged whites. “A July 2009 report by the Sentencing Project found that 2/3rds of people in the United States with life sentences are non-white” (Huffington). In some areas, such as New York and other major cities nationwide, the percentage is even higher. If the same crimes are being committed in similar circumstances, yet the only difference between the two is the physical appearance or the criminal, the punishments should be of equal intensity. Striking racial disparities exist at nearly every level of the Criminal Justice System-from arrest rates, to bail amounts, to sentence lengths, to probation hearing outcomes. Black Americans are also three times more likely to have their cars searched as well as more likely to be pulled over for no reason. It is no secret that African Americans and other racial minorities are often times deprived of basic human liberties or even constitutional rights solely due to the color or their

The article that I read about the racial bias of the death penalty in the U.S. by David Love explained how southern states are responsible for the vast majority of African American executions in the United States. Love explicitly stated that “the application of the U.S. death penalty is unfair, arbitrary, and racially biased.” Most disturbingly, the article explained that whether or not a capital punishment defendant receives the death penalty does not depend on the facts of the case but more so on the race of the defendant and the race of the victim. Moreover, even the county in which the case was prosecuted can play a role in capital punishment sentencing.

African American sentences and Caucasians sentences can be exceedingly contradistinctive. According to The Editorial Board, “Decades of research have shown that the criminal courts sentence black defendants more harshly than whites” (1). The Editorial Board is saying that there is a difference between sentencing. An individual’s race could determine their length of sentencing in the court system. Criminals whom act in identical offenses, no matter of their race, should be given the same sentencing. King reports, “Black men are given prison sentences 20% longer than white men for the exact same crime” (1). King’s argument is that minorities are given longer sentences, and that there is no equality between races. The court system discriminates against minorities by giving them longer sentences from Caucasians individuals who did the same crime. In her book, Are Cops Racist, McDonald advocates that “People in prison are not black or white they’re criminals” (7). In making this avocation, McDonald urges us to understand that criminals are criminals nonetheless of their race.

African Americans only make up 13% of the population. Half of all those convicted of murder are African American, outweighing the dominance of Caucasians who make up 64% of the population. Based on over turned convictions, African Americans are seven times more likely to be convicted of murder than Caucasians (Martelle, S. (2017, March 7). In a turmoil cycle, race crimes is an influence on sending innocent blacks to prison. It is believed that 84% of white murder victims and 93% of black murder victims are killed by members of their own race (Gross, Possley & Stephens, 2017,March 7). African Americans convicted of murder are more likely to be innocent than any other race convicted. Also, African Americans who are convicted of killing a

White Americans receive favorable treatment due to racial disparity in the justice system due to a modern stereotype that, based on the color of your skin, you are considered a threat. There are many cases of wrongful convictions based on skin color – a man of color will often receive a longer sentence than a white man. Of course, there has always been racism in the world – it is inescapable. In a report by Samuel Gross, “Race and Wrongful Convictions”, he claims, “African Americans are more than seven times more likely to be imprisoned for murder than white Americans, and more than six times as likely to be killed in a homicide” (Gross). Considering this, it is clear there is a problem that needs to be addressed. Currently, the American justice system is biased in its treatment of black men and for society to progress, this issue

Most Americans would like to think that our criminal justice system is working the way it was intended, but they’re not aware that our criminal justice system shows strong evidence that it is biased and discriminatory in regards to minorities, the majority are African Americans. Studies show that African Americans are more aggressively targeted and punished throughout the system, not just during sentencing. Data collected nationally shows how race is correlated to drug use, police stops, arrests, likelihood to be released on bail, jury selection, trial, sentencing, prison as well as the option of capital punishment.

In a study performed by Christopher Ingraham, he found that African Americans are more likely to receive harsher sentences compared to whites for the same crime committed (Ingraham, 2017). This problem can derive from the personal bias of the prosecutor whether he or she is portraying it implicitly or explicitly. The process discriminates minorities through allowing these sentence disparities to occur. In order to fix this ongoing problem, prosecutors should be able to drastically change sentences from defendant to defendant if they committed the same

The majority of the victims who were executed for murder crimes have been African American which killed a Caucasian individual. The state in which the crime is committed, has an impact on which the defendant receives sentencing.

When a person is charged with Capital punishment we automatically think they are a dangerous criminal, but what if someone was charge simply because of their race. Well, there have been many researches done along with statistical evidence to confirm that this may be in fact the case for African-Americans. The United States Constitution was established so that every Citizen in America is guaranteed their basic rights which include; guarantee a fair process in all hearings and equal treatment under the law. African-Americans have struggled throughout our history with unfair treatment and equality. For example, the decades of slavery and the struggle of passing the equal voting rights bill in 1965. This may have passed us, but many African-Americans are still dealing with racial discrimination and this time it’s with the Criminal Justice system in particular, Capital Punishment. There have been intensive studies and evidence coming up showing how race can in fact play a major role when determining if you get a sentence to Capital Punishment or not, even if you are in fact innocent. We are to believe with our Constitution, bill of rights, and laws that every citizen no matter what race you are will be treated equally fair and justice will hopefully be served, but throughout our history up until now we are finding out that ultimately what will decide the outcome of a citizens fair and equal trial is the color of their skin.

In Alexie’s poem about capitol punishment he talks about how race is a large factor in who he [the narrator of the stoy] sees being sent to the execution chair (Alexie). “Yet only one study has examined whether race matters in the capital of capital punishment….death was more apt to be imposed against black defendants than white defendants…death was also more apt to be imposed on behalf of white victims than black victims. (McLaughlin).” While it was proven in a study their was only one study down all the way back into the 90’s. However, in todays world views it is not politically correct to discriminate against someone based on their skin color. “…death should not be imposed disproportionately against any group of defendants, nor should death be imposed disproportionately on behalf of any group of victims (McLaughlin).” In a 2013 case study by the bureau of statistics 56% were white and 42% were black (Snell). The race and sex
of inmates under sentence of death has remained relatively stable since 2000 (Snell). This helps provides that over time results can change and even show that reasons and views can change.