The death penalty also known as “Capital punishment” has been around for decades and has been used throughout the years against people who have been convicted of committing horrendous crimes such as first-degree murder. Almost all countries in the world have the death penalty or have had it at one point, but most nations have since abolished the practice of the death penalty because it is inhumane and violates human rights. The united states of America is one of many countries that still practices the death penalty to this day and it continues to be a hot button issue of controversy among its citizens. Most Americans have a very strong point of view when it comes to the death penalty, no matter which side of the debate they belong too. Supporters …show more content…
Many individuals who are likely to be placed on the death row or to be executed are poor, minorities or people who belong to certain racial, ethnic or religious groups because of the blatant prejudice that is within our justice system. For example, a person of color is more likely to be executed for the same or similar crimes to that of a white defendant which is injustice at its peak for a nation that pledges justice for all. These same individuals are also faced with difficulties to access legal resources they may need to defend themselves in court. since the majority of convicted defendants come from underrepresented communities and unfortunate family backgrounds they are unable to afford good legal representation so they are forced to resort to use underpaid, inexperienced and overworked state appointed attorneys. When it comes to the capital punishment I believe that it is applied in a racially biased approach. This unfairness extends not only to the race of the accused singled out for death row but also to the race of the victim. It is disgusting to know that when deciding on who gets the death sentence the color of the defendant and victim plays a crucial and intolerable role in the U.S justice system. According to a study done by general accounting office(GAO)in the 90s they found that for homicides committed under otherwise similar circumstances, and where defendants had
for a dull respondent than for a white prosecutor in a practically identical case. A study in California found that the people who killed whites were general 3 times more slanted to be sentenced to death than the people who killed blacks and more than 4 times more likely than the people who killed Latinos. Looks at exhibit that 96% of states where there have been surveys of race and capital punishment, there was an example of either race-of-casualty or race-of-litigant separation, or both. A respondent was a few times more prone to be sentenced to death if the homicide casualty was white. A January 2003 study discharged by the University of Maryland presumed that race and geology are central point in capital punishment choices.
There are apparent arbitrariness and unpredictability in the outcomes of capital cases. The second flaw is unfairness. Extralegal factors such as race still play a significant role in determining which defendants are sentenced to die and which get to live. The research conducted focuses on those serious flaws and how capital jurors’ lack of instructional comprehension contributes to not only confused decision-making but also to racially discriminatory death sentencing. The authors also conducted a study that focused on the “White male dominance” effect on capital jury deliberations.
America’s criminal justice system is racially biased and influenced due to the fact that the punishment a person gets is not related to the crime that 's done, funds that help African
Source A argues that disparities between blacks and whites have been appalling in court. According to Source A, “If a black person kills a white person, they are twice as likely to receive the death sentence as white person who kills a black person” (2). This reveals that a black person has a higher rate of receiving the death sentence when tried for murdering a white person. If a white person is tried for a killing of a black person they have a 50% chance of getting the death sentence, then that means that a black person would receive a 100% chance of getting the death sentence for killing a white person.
I believe that the federal justice system is just and unbiased. The federal justice system has guidelines and rules to keep them from using power improperly and targeting groups of people based on their race. This is talked about in article “Is the Criminal Justice System Racist”. There are statistics given pertaining to the prison sentences given to African Americans, prosecution during a felony trial, and crime/prison rates.
Fast forward to the present day, we have the Ferguson, Mike Brown of Emmitt Till’s still occurring in our justice system. A person must view the criminal justice threw a godly telescope to see the inequalities that exit, and need to come to the forefront of our government, and the population worldwide. Sentencingproject.org statistically show that African American men, women, and juvenile are arrested more often than any other races across the nations. This report will prove, and argues that racial disparity in the justice system is at large in our system. This research paper will further explain, and presents evidence that display the presence of racial bias in the criminal justice system in America.
criminal justice system, African Americans tend to be the victim of this punishment due to their race and class. defendant convicted of killing white victim is more likely to face death penalty than those convicted of killing non-white victims. The reason behind the racial disparity is that there is a problem in policy, implicit biases and structural disadvantages. The impact of race on capital sentencing is astonishing, since 1976 the U.S. has executed thirteen times more black defendants with white victim than white defendants with black victim. While criminal justice department claim they are color blind Such statistical states they are not color blind instead they are biased and not caring about the African Americans and minorities.
“We Need To Talk About Injustice.”). Unfortunately, race affects the chance of execution and it happens more than it should. As a society, we have made so many improvements throughout history. The abolition of slavery and the civil rights movement has immensely improved our society but every day when we incarcerate innocent black individuals and send them to death row, we as a society are setting ourselves back sixty years. Do you want that?
Over the years the death penalty has been used way more than it should, especially with African Americans. Not only were they treated unfairly in court but they were often killed by mobs of white men for ridiculous crimes. In the past juries were not unbiased.
Not all trials are impeccable. The issue of racial disparity has been a serious problem of the United States. Especially in the criminal justice system category. For in criminal justice system today racial inequality is increasing not receding. This is because today, our justice system remotes the idea of fair trials and discriminate many African Americans and other minorities as well without realizing it.
This report is helpful because it highlights how race is influenced on the death penalty. It will help me see if the death penalty is racially neutral. Coker, D. (2003). Addressing the real world of racial injustice in the criminal justice system. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology.
Another issue that was discussed is the inequality of death penalty in practice. There have been serious issues with racial discrimination. For reference in cases with white victims and black defendants convictions occurred twenty two percent of the time while with black victims and white defendants with percentage dropped to a measly three
They frequently are wrongfully accused, also they serve longer sentences in prison. Though the United States has improved greatly in the past century on how we view race, there still is a massive issue with how the Criminal Justice System treats them. In Bryan Stevenson’s TED Talk , “Let's Talk About Injustice,” he talks about how the United State’s Criminal Justice System is different than justice systems in other parts of the world; the United States has one of the highest incarceration rates. Stevenson states that one out of nine people who face the death penalty are later proven innocent.
At a glance, the judicial system appears to have been set up to make sure that every one is punished fairly and equally no matter what your race is, your gender or your beliefs. But, once you begin to delve into the judicial systems background and trends you will begin to notice things that continuously happen to specific groups of people. You will begin to see that clearly some races are treated way different than other races which is not how the judicial system should be set up. Racism in the judicial system has been around since the beginning of the judicial system´s existence. It is a prime example of out many that showcase how the social justice of minorities are infringed upon.
Death Penalty According to the 2010 Gallup Poll, 64% of the United State of America are supporting the death penalty, I as an American am part of that 36% that is against it. I do not believe that we as human being should determine whether another person should live or die. A second reason that I am against the death penalty is for the reason that the accused person could be innocent and normally the accused person only has one court presentation and is only judged by the judge not a jury of their peer, and is sent to death row where they pay for a crime that they haven’t done. My final reason that i do not believe that the death penalty should count as a punishment for the American people is because, a person that has done a massive massacre shouldn’t just be able to leave the world just like that without paying and suffering for what they have done, Or should the death punishment continue as it is for it has a great benefit to us as citizens of the United States.