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Capital Punishment and Race

In: Social Issues

Submitted By asef77
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C apital punishment has been a long standing political issue in our nation’s history. While many still support capital punishment, some argue it is immoral and even unfair. Recent data suggests that race is a factor in considering whether or not someone should be given the death sentence. Based on this data, it seems that both the race of the defendant and the victim plays a role in the capital punishment decision. A 1998 publication by the Death Penalty Information Center called The Death Penalty in Black and White examines the sentences following 667 murder convictions between 1983 and 1993 in the Philadelphia area.
So does racism play a part in the capital punishment decision? Is a black individual more likely to be executed then a white individual for the same offense? If a white man kills a black man is he less likely to be executed then if he killed another white man? Consider this data:
76 of 422 black defendants were executed when the victim was black, compared to 21 of 99 when the victim was white. 1 out of 25 white defendants were executed when the defendant was black, compared to 17 of 121 when the victim was white. So does racism play a part in the capital punishment decision? Is a black individual more likely to be executed then a white individual for the same offense? If a white man kills a black man is he less likely to be executed then if he killed another white man? Consider this data:
76 of 422 black defendants were executed when the victim was black, compared to 21 of 99 when the victim was white. 1 out of 25 white defendants were executed when the defendant was black, compared to 17 of 121 when the victim was white.

Notice how only 4% of white defendants were executed when the victim was black, compared to 18% for black defendants. That’s a staggering 14% difference. This suggests that the justice

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