Racial discrimination in capital punishment sentencing

¶ … Capital Punishment Discriminatory? (Yes)

The death penalty is an arbitrary institution that is employed for a series of reasons that are unrelated to the crimes committed by actual persons (assuming, of course, that those sentenced to the death penalty are even guilty of the crimes that they have committed). Indeed, the death penalty is employed differently depending upon the race, gender, and wealth of accused person. These criteria are unacceptable for use in determining outcomes that will result in imminent death for accused persons. The death penalty, since it is influenced by these factors is used arbitrarily and must be stopped.

One of the most powerful and often used arguments, which notes that the application of the death penalty is spurious and often based on socioeconomic or other factors irrelevant to the severity of the crime itself, is that the death penalty is employed in a racist fashion. Indeed, this particularly argument has been made in multiple rigorous analytical studies of applications of the death penalty and has been used to argue that death penalty, as it is currently employed, is unconstitutional, because it is dsicriminatoril applied on the basis of race, which is not allowed according to Supreme Court precedent. One of the most high profile examples of this is in the Supreme Court case, McClesky v. Kemp (1987), in which it was argued that the death penalty was racist because blacks were much more likely to be sentenced to the death penalty:

In support of his claim, the accused proffered a statistical study indicating that, even after taking account of numerous nonracial variables, defendants charged with killing whites were 4.3 times as likely to receive a death sentence in Georgia as defendants charged with killing blacks, and that black defendants were 1.1 times as likely to receive a death sentence as other defendants.

McClesky v. Kemp")

This assertion is particularly telling. Not only do these statistics suggest that black are more likely to receive the death penalty, but also show specifically that a black person who kills a white person is more than four times more likely to get the death penalty than a white man who kills a black man. This statistic reveals to what degree the application of the death penalty is based on factors that have nothing to do with the severity of the crime, and in fact have to do with unconstitutional biases on the part of jurors. Indeed, this is even clearer in other areas. Notably, Texas, which is now famous for its wanton use of the death penalty in criminal cases, provides an excellent example in that the city Dallas, which has "has sent dozens of people to death row" has not ever given anyone the death penalty "for killing an African-American" (Cockburn and St. Claire). The death penalty, although it may seem fair in the procedures for its application, fails to be fair in its practice. Notably, the death penalty is employed more commonly if the attacker is black and the victim is white, and this disparity is significant enough to constitute racism. Indeed, our society does not tolerate racism in other areas, such as in work, education, and social services, so why would it tolerate racism when it is literally a matter of life and death? Don't we use affirmative action in other areas to correct these ills? The death penalty is wrong because it is racist, and we, as a country, should not tolerate this travesty any longer.

Similarly, there is a great discrepancy in the application of the death penalty along the axis of gender as well. Men are significantly more likely to be sentenced to the death penalty than women are, and in the rare cases in which women are sentenced to the death penalty, they are typically not executed. Indeed, the statistics show how few women have been executed since the reinstatement of the death penalty is paltry in comparison to the number of men executed:

Presently, there are forty-seven women on death row. Only two have been executed since nineteen seventy six [when the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty]. Usually the court finds an excuse for the women, such as a mental illness or self-defense.... women are seen as less threatening.

Arbitrariness and Discrimination")

Indeed, one may reply to this by arguing that this would probably hold true of crimes that are not capital crimes either. In other words, poorer defendants are most probably more likely to be sentenced to other crimes as well, because their court-appointed lawyers are more likely to be overworked and inexperienced. We cannot be expected to provide the same level of legal advice to all people can we? Well, certainly not, but it seems that the death penalty is a special case, since once we have taken someone's life, it cannot be given back. Indeed, we need to realize that this inequality, although it may result in problems within the legal system is literally a matter of life and death here. The death penalty is extremely arbitrary in its application and must be stopped.

Bibliogrpahy

Arbitrariness and Discrimination." In Opposition to the Death Penalty. Retrieved at http://deathpenaltyinfo.msu.edu/c/about/arguments/argument4a.htm.

Boyd, Erin. "Gender Bias and the Death Penalty." Retrieved at http://atdpweb.soe.

A berkeley.edu/quest/Voices/DeathPenalty.html

Cockburn, Alex, and St. Claire, Jeffrey. "The Texas Death Machine." Counterpunch.

Retrieved at http://www.counterpunch.org/deathpenalty.html.

McClesky vs. Kemp." Against the Death Penalty. Retrieved at www.againstdp.org/kemp.html.