¶ … 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...
Capital Punishment Currently, 38 states have legalized capital punishment statutes. In most states, the reinstatements of the death penalty were a response to public outcry over the perceived increase of violent crimes. There are now more than 3,000 people on death row, and more are being convicted each year. Despite this legalized status, a vocal group of opponents have raised questions regarding the constitutionality, fairness and effectiveness of capital punishment. This paper
Capital Punishment in the United States Capital punishment is one of the comprehensive, but debatable punishments given to criminal offenders in the U.S. And many other nations across the globe. Capital punishment involves the issuance of the death penalty because of committing serious crimes like crime in the society. Capital punishment has received tumultuous public support touching both ends of the society with its authorization in thirty-seven American states. It is
" This article puts forward the notion that when analyzing the "...relationships between minority groups and mainstream populations," the issue of whether the use of "formal control is applied fairly and consistently between these different groups" is a pivotal place to begin (Ruddell, et al., 2004). It is pivotal because "injustice" not only can have "a corrosive effect" on the perception of the fairness (or unfairness) of the criminal justice system;
As such, it is unlikely to change in light of knowledge or information about the death penalty and its administration" (Vollum & Buffington-Vollum, p. 30). Furthermore, "those who scored higher on value-expressive attitudes were less accepting of information critical of the death penalty and, in turn, less likely to change their views in light of the information presented." Thus, the widespread support of the death penalty in the face
Death Penalty+ Annotated Bibliography It has been theorized and even proven that many laws that are in place in America are the product of JudeoChristian religious beliefs, practices and writings, that have over the years been toned down to better meet the needs and standards of the U.S. society. There is a clear sense that some penalties for breaking the law have little if any effect on crime committed in the
Statistics show that black murderers are far more likely than white murderers to get the death penalty, especially if the victim was white. Blacks make up 12% of the population but 40% of the population on death row, as noted. Georgia can serve as a case in point. Statistics show that a black man accused of killing a white person in Georgia is substantially more likely to receive the
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