Studies consistently and generally show that, all factors held constant, the race of the accused is a critical variable in determining who will be sentenced to death. Black citizens are, thus, subjected to double discrimination. From initial charging decisions to plea bargaining to sentencing by the jury, Black defendants receive harsh treatment and, as victims, their lives are given less value than whites. Most juries still consist of all white members in many places (Freedman).
Freedman (1997) adds that most capital defendants cannot afford a suitable attorney and so the court must appoint a counsel. Major studies found that the quality of defense representation in capital murder trials is in general far lower than in felony cases. This area is highly specialized. The State must offer attractive pay to competent counsels on the one hand and there many poor people needing them on the other. When the poor person must contend with an equally or more culpable but more financially capable contender, the poor one would clearly suffer on account of this incapacity alone (Freedman).
It is also not rare that jurors tend to sentence to death a person who seems different from themselves more than someone who is similar (Freedman 1997). This can be the explanation to the observation that those with mental disabilities are sentenced to death at a far higher rate than can be explained. Only prejudice is behind it. Another factor is gender (Turow 2003). Statistics show that there are more Blacks and other people of color in prisons and are executed than there are whites. Killing a woman also merits capital punishment at three and half times the rate for killing a man. Add to this what Turow calls the "uncontrollable variables," such as the identities or personalities of the prosecutor and the defense lawyer, the nature of the judge and the jury, the characteristics of the victim and the place of the crime. The impact of these, according to Turow, shows anything but a "clearly proportionate morality (Turow)."
Goldberg (1989) further deplores that the death penalty exchanges "real" lives for statistical lives, has uncertain deterring value, is uncivilized and built only on the perceived humaneness of those who advocate it. It unjustifiably sacrifices the real lives of real persons it executes for those who will not be murdered if the death penalty deters and is invoked. He also maintains that, since it is uncertain whether it really deters, the death penalty should not be used. The death penalty is also deemed "uncivilized" or not fit for a society, which rejects a culture of aggression. And Goldberg believes that opponents, not supporters, of the death penalty act out of humane motives
The April 2001 poll of 1,000 adults, conducted by the International Communications Research for ABC News and the Washington Post showed that a majority of Americans wanted a moratorium on the death penalty while a commission studied its administration (American Demographics 2001). Annual surveys show that support for capital punishment steadily increased between 1967 and 1997. This translated to ae of the American people. Today, surveys reveal that two-thirds still support the death penalty. The number went down because of the introduction and development of DNA tests and as a consequence of overturned convictions, increasing evidence of racial discrimination in imposing the death penalty, and high-profile...
Future Role of the Juvenile Justice System in the United States Young people are naturally prone to experimentation and impulsive behaviors that frequently result in their involvement with the law enforcement community, and police officers today generally enjoy wide latitude in resolving these incidents. In fact, in some if not most cases, police officers can release young offenders into the custody of their parents or guardians without the further involvement
Of these elements, they found anxiety sensitivity to be directly linked to lower levels of educational advancement. Anxiety sensitivity mainly comprises symptoms of anxiety leading to fear due to a certain belief that anxiety has dangerous somatic, psychological, or social penalties. In one study scholars found that the basic forms of fears were the playing field for a broad spectrum of fear-stimuli and they found that these basic forms of
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