The Racial Bias of Capital Punishment in America Essay -- Argumentativ

The Racial Bias of Capital Punishment in America Throughout history, minorities have been ill-represented in the immoraljustice system, particularly in cases where the possible outcome is death. Inearly America, blacks were lynched for the slightest violation of informal lawsand many of these killings occured without any type of due process. As the discriminative system has matured, minorities have found better representation but itis not completely unbiased. In the past twenty years strict controls have been utilize but the system still has symptoms of racial bias. This racial biaswas first recognized by the Supreme Court in Fruman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238(1972). The Supreme Court Justices rent that the death penalty was beinghanded out unfairly and according to Gest (1996) the Supreme Court felt thedeath penalty was being imposed freakishly and indiscriminately and most often onblacks. Several years later in Gregg v. Georgia, 428 U.S. 153 (1976), theSupreme Court decided, with efficient controls, the death penalty could be usedconstitutionally. Yet, flat with these various controls, the system does noteffectively eliminate racial bias. Since Gregg v. Georgia the total population of all 36 death rows hasgrown as has the itemise of judicial controls used by each state. Of the 3,122people on death row 41% are black while 48% are uncontaminating (Gest, 1996, 41). Thisfigure may be acceptable at first glance but one must take into account the factthat only 12% of the U.S. population is black (Smolowe, 1991, 68). CarolynSnurkowski of the Florida attorney generals office believes that thedisproportionate number of blacks on death row... ...nfined (As cited in Lacayo,1987, 80). With great effort, the judicial controls can begin to battle theracial bias of Americas Judicial system but to completely eliminate such a bias,the people involved in the judicial process must learn to look past the race ofthe offender or the value of the victim, and instead focus on c ircumstances ofthe crime.ReferencesGest, T. (1986 Oct. 20). Black-and-White Issue? US News & populaceReport, 101 (16), 24-25.Gest, T. (1996 July 8). A house without a blueprint. US News & WorldReport, 121 (2), 41-42.Lacayo, R. (1987, May 4). Clearing a Path to the Chair. Time, 129(18), 80.Seligman, D. (1994, September 5). Uh oh More Stats. Fortune, 130 (5),113-114.Smolowe, J. (1991, April 29). raceway and the Death Penalty. Time, 137 (17), 68-69.