Although that case involved jury selection, the Court established a standard for alleging racial discrimination in prosecution. The Court held that the defendant has to show that he is a member of a cognizable racial group, that the prosecutor has acted in a manner having a discriminatory effect, and that the procedure in place allows those who choose to discriminate the leeway to do so. Once a defendant has established a prima facie showing of discrimination, the State then has the burden of proving race-neutrality. (Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 96-98 (1986)). The clear reasoning of the Batson decision would suggest that since Bass could show that he is an African-American, that African-Americans are disproportionately subject to the death penalty, and that the decision whether to charge a defendant with the death penalty is left to the discretion of the prosecutor, that he has established a prima facie case of discrimination, which should actually shift the burden to the state to prove race-neutrality, and not simply to comply with a discovery request to provide further investigation into the issue.
Finally, one need look outside of the criminal law to look at how access to appropriate figures can demonstrate that facially race-neutral laws can have an incredibly discriminatory impact. In Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954), the Supreme Court overruled the decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), which had determined that separate but equal facilities were not racially discriminatory. The Court overturned that decision based on overwhelming evidence that separate educational facilities were inherently unequal because, even if the facilities were equal, that separation had a negative effect on those children. They made this finding based on psychological evidence presented by the plaintiffs, which was certainly not as broad in scope or as detailed as the evidence that Bass could provide that blacks in America are disproportionately subjected to the death penalty at all stages of the charging process. The plaintiffs in Brown could not demonstrate actual lasting harm to the plaintiffs in question, but could only show a general harm. Moreover, the plaintiffs in Brown had access to psychological information about African-American
While the Thirteenth Amendment ended slavery, any student of American history can attest to the fact that African-Americans toiled under the vestiges of slavery for years after they attained freedom. In fact, violence towards blacks in the Jim Crow South may have been more deadly than prior to emancipation, because whites no longer had a vested monetary interest in the health and welfare of blacks. The imposition of the death penalty on blacks as a method of control has its vestiges in slavery and has a long post-slavery history of being used as a tool of continued racial oppression. That does not mean that the death penalty is inherently wrong or that every death-penalty request is racially motivated. However, it is troubling that the government is unwilling to comply with basic discovery requests that should prove that it is not applying the death penalty in a racially discriminatory manner. That reluctance, coupled with the evidence that African-Americans are almost twice as likely to be subjected to the death penalty as white defendants, makes it clear that the defendant's suspicion that he is the victim of racial discrimination is well-founded, and suggests that he should be entitled to discovery to substantiate his claims.
Works Cited
Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986).
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896).
United States v. Bass, 2001 FED App. 0340P…
However, this difficulty can be avoided by examining van den Haag's distinction between justice and equality. The physical reality of administering justice can never match its theoretical guidelines. Justice is a necessary tool in the aim of producing a functional society. Accordingly, inequities that arise in its practice must be tolerated -- although fought against. State sanctioned killing, on the other hand, is not a logistic necessity for any
The debate over the death penalty remains and the Supreme Court will most likely be asked decide such cases for years to come. Summary and Conclusion The purpose of this discussion was to examine several landmark Supreme Court cases and explain the evolution of capital punishment jurisprudence from 1972 to the present. The research focused on the cases of Furman v Georgia, Woodson v. North Carolina, Gregg v Georgia, McCleskey v
Death Penalty Anckar, Carsten. "Why Countries Choose the Death Penalty." Brown Journal of World Affairs 21.1 (2014): 7-25. Business Source Premier. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. This source focuses on why countries choose to use the death penalty to punish certain crimes. The crimes punished for with the death penalty vary but the use of the death penalty is typically for one or more several common reasons. For the countries that do choose the
While the decision has hung over states as one national standard, it infringes the essential principles of federalism and separation of powers that are rooted in the country's constitutional system (Silversten, 2011). During the time that the Supreme Court made this ruling, the state of Georgia basically had the same position on punishment for the crime of rape with many states. Actually, very few states permitted the executions or enforcement
Death Penalty This informative speech outline topic DOES THE DEATH PENALTY DETER CRIME? The outline detailed 4 APA references. It follow format detailed referenced. Please outline tornadoes OUTLINE FOR INFORMATIVE SPEECH Tornadoes Purpose: To inform audience tornadoes Thesis: Today I discuss fascinating facts tornadoes. To inform the audience about the two sides of the debate on the death penalty, regarding its justice and its deterrent effect. The death penalty is one of the
Death Penalty as Retribution The Retributive Nature of the Death Penalty The peaceful fabric of society is torn whenever a crime is committed. In the case of murder, the suffering of the victim's loved ones can be unbearable and last for a lifetime. The destructive ripple effect of these tragedies cannot be compensated for in any way, not even by the capture, conviction, and execution of the killer. However, many states still
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now