Student says the Death Penalty is Imposed in a Racist Way

  It’s no secret that African Americans are heavily overrepresented in the criminal justice system. But today, I want to narrow the scope to talk about the racial disparities in the death penalty. In 2019, 52% of people on death row were black individuals, however, African Americans only make up about 13% of the United States population. Furthermore, a black individual is 17x more likely to end up on death row if their victim was white. This study reveals the implicit and explicit biases that the criminal justice system is plagued by. 

The best way I can explain the racism occurring in the criminal justice system is by telling you the story of Troy Anthony Davis. He was a black man executed by lethal injection on September 21, 2011. He was accused of the murder of a Georgian police officer; a crime he swore he did not commit. Leading up to the execution, the state was asked to reconsider the decision because 7 of the 9 witnesses withdrew their testimony. Despite this, the state moved forward with their decision to execute Davis. 

Troy Davis is not the only black man who was racially targeted in the criminal justice system. Pervis Payne is a black man who has been on death row for 33 years. He was sentenced for the murder of a white woman, a crime that he never plead guilty to.  Not only is he a black individual, but he also lived his whole life with a learning disability. This may have also played a part in the court’s decision to sentence him with the death penalty. 

It is crucial that we stand up for the black individuals that don’t have a voice. Go to events and get involved to stop this injustice. This needs to be done for African Americans like Pervis Payne, Troy Davis, and all of the other black individuals who suffered this racism. As spoken by Troy Davis, “The struggle for justice doesn’t end with me. This struggle is for all the Troy Davis’s who came before me and all the ones who will come after me.”

If you are interested in learning more about this topic, this is the article that I used to get my information: https://innocenceproject.org/troy-davis-pervis-payne-race-death-penalty/ 

Death Penalty Policy

The death penalty is a federal punishment that is given to a criminal that has committed a grave crime. Crimes such as murder, extreme, malicious torture, and/or rape cases whether or not the victim survives are some examples of this (HG.org Legal Resources, 2020). More than half of America still support this form of punishment, though a growing number of the American population is no longer in support. Many find it unethical, though others feel it’s the most justified way to appropriately punish one for committing such horrid crimes. 

Though it used to happen pretty often within the last century (with varied ways of execution, such as electrocution and gassing), now, only “about 60 prisoners are on the federal death row…three federal executions have been carried out in the modern era, all by lethal injection, with the last occurring in 2003” (Death Penalty Information Center, 2019). Also, a court ruling was issued after Furman v. Georgia in 1972, where the number of eligible offenses for the death penalty, which was declared unconstitutional, was expanded to about 60 in the Federal Death Penalty Act of 1994 (Death Penalty Information Center, 2019).

There are varied opinions about the death penalty in the United States. Some people feel the death penalty helps give some sort of consolation and ease for the victim’s loved ones with a death sentence as opposed to the criminal on parole and still a potential threat. In other cases, some feel it “serves the ends of justice and acts as a deterrent” (HG.org Legal Resources, 2020). Some, rather, feel the potential risk of executing an innocent person falsely accused of committing a heinous crime, which, sadly, has happened many times. 

With this being said, there have been significant modifications. For example, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty cannot be given to mentally disabled offenders in Atkins v. Virginia, 2002, juvenile offenders in Roper v. Simmons, 2005, or to “those convicted of raping a child where death was not the intended or actual result” in Kennedy v. Louisiana, 2008. In addition, the court has mandated that “juries and not judges find facts that make a defendant eligible for capital punishment (Ring v. Arizona, 2002), and impose a sentence of death (Hurst v. Florida, 2016)” (McInnes, 2020).  

In conclusion, there is much controversy and criticism in regard to the death penalty, whether or not it should be a form of punishment given, to whom it should be given and for why, and so forth. The death penalty has long been present in America, and though modifications to ways in which people are killed have been made and criteria have been adjusted to make it more just and ethical, many still feel it should not exist at all.

References

Death Penalty Information Center. (2019, December 7). Federal Death Penalty. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/state-and-federal-info/federal-death-penalty 

HG.org Legal Resources. (2020). Capital Punishment Law - Guide to Death Penalty Law. https://www.hg.org/death-penalty.html 

McInnes, K. (2020, March 24). States and Capital Punishment. https://www.ncsl.org/research/civil-and-criminal-justice/death-penalty.aspx 

Sometimes I have to help students learn to write well

Here is an example of a student paper where I have tried to improve the writing style.  

            The death penalty is something that not only affects the lives of the person that has been sentenced to be executed, but also affects the people of our country and/or state. Not only does the death penalty plug up the processes in the court systems but also has the taxes raised because of the fact that the money spent on the death penalty and the processes for it is unexpected expenses and then get taken away from other things that need the money. The death penalty has raised the taxes on the people in the state and have instead of using the money on fixing highways it is used on the death penalty process, whether it is the cases or the actually execution part. Not only do death penalty cases plug up the courts with lengthy and costly processes, but also these death penalty cases take money away from more important priorities, because their high legal costs divert funding from better criminal justice programs (such as crime prevention), schools, or road maintenance, and keep total public safety spending higher than it needs to be, thus pushing up tax rates. 


Another problem them that seems to have affected the death penalty is the fact that people who were already put on death row have been found to be innocent that has already been put on death row. There is also a little bit of a plus side a possible benefit with the death penalty. It helps lower rates of capital crimes the fact of crime in risk of being put on death row and be executed. The deterrence benefit of capital punishment hasn’t been conclusively proven, and there is evidence on both sides, but some recent work by researchers such as Naci Mocan, Cass R. Sunstein, and Adrian Vermeule (all formerly or currently death penalty opponents) judge the evidence in favor of a life-saving deterrence effect of the death penalty to be strong (see “Does the Death Penalty Save Lives? A New Debate,” by Adam Liptak, in the New York Times, November 18, 2007, page 1)

It is almost a catch twenty-two. Do you get rid of the death penalty because there is are innocent people that have been put on death row, or do we keep it because it helps out the crime aspect in keeping it lower than what it normally otherwise would be? Another problem the government faces with the death penalty is the fact of that people receive different treatment based on such arbitrary factors as the age, race, and gender of the victim and the convicted offender. For example, the women and juveniles younger offenders have less of a chance to go onto death row because of the their gender and their age. In fact, the Supreme Court decided on March 1, 2005 that it is unconstitutional to sentence any person to death for a crime committed before their 18^th birthday. It is hard for the people  juries, judges, and prosecutors dealing with the cases or the people in the government have a hard time sending to send females and juveniles young adults to death row because our society says that the women are the nurturers and the children are innocent. With these These ideas that society has put into our heads about gender and age, it has have made in it almost impossible for us to be able to be okay with the fact of accommodate ourselves to any situation in which we sentence women and basically children being sentenced young adults to death.