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Answering the hard problems: Race and the death penalty

By Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing

"By reserving the penalty of death for black defendants . . . or for those convicted of killing white persons, we perpetuate the ugly legacy of slavery - teaching our children that some lives are inherently less precious than others."-Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, Former President, Southern Christian Leadership ConferenceSince 1977, the overwhelming majority of death row defendants (80%) have been executed for killing white victims, although whites make up only 50% percent of all homicide victims. In a 1990 report, the non-partisan U.S. General Accounting Office found "a pattern of evidence indicating racial disparities in the charging, sentencing, and imposition of the death penalty."A North Carolina study, based on data from 502 murders occurring between 1993 and 1997 found that defendants whose victims are white are 3...continue to full post

Full post as published by tcask:: on the road (to abolition) on June 01, 2009 (boomark / email).