Role of courts in the legal system

Role of Courts in Curing Gender Disparity in Capital Punishment

There is no question that there is gender disparity in the rate at which men and women are given the death penalty. As of January 1, 2010 there were 61 women on death row, which was 1.87% of the total death row population of about 3,261 persons (Death Penalty Information Center, 2010). Over the past 100 years, over 40 women have been executed in the U.S. (Death Penalty Information Center, 2010). Twelve female offenders have been executed since 1976 (Death Penalty Information Center, 2010). This pales in comparison to the number of men who have been executed; throughout American history, women have comprised approximately 2.8% of executions in the United States.

There does not seem to be an easy way for the courts to fix gender disparity in capital punishment. After all, the fact that so many women who are accused of murder have documented histories as victims of domestic violence by their eventual victim make one question the efficacy of whether or not it would even be morally appropriate for one to advocate an increase in the number of women sentenced to the death penalty or executed each year.

As of January 1, 2010 there were 61 women on death row. This constitutes 1.87% of the total death row population of about 3,261 persons.