Study Examines Death Penalty and Race

By Jeralyn, Section Death Penalty
Posted on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:20:00 PM EST
Tags: death penalty (all tags)

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Adam Liptak in the New York Times examines the results of a new study on the death penalty and crime. There are two key findings.

The first one is not a surprise: The death penalty is imposed more often when the victim is white.

The second is potentially ground-breaking:

It found that the race of the defendant by itself plays a major role in explaining who is sentenced to death.

It has never been conclusively proven that, all else being equal, blacks are more likely to be sentenced to death than whites in the three decades since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Many experts, including some opposed to the death penalty, have said that evidence of that sort of direct discrimination is spotty and equivocal.

More...

But the author of the new study, Scott Phillips, a professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Denver, found a robust relationship between race and the likelihood of being sentenced to death even after the race of the victim and other factors were held constant.

Liptak presents a lot of criticism of the methodology of the study. And makes the point, it's a "largely academic" matter:

Twenty-one years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that even solid statistical evidence of racial disparities in the administration of the death penalty did not offend the Constitution. The vote was 5 to 4, and the case was McCleskey v. Kemp.

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Study Examines Death Penalty and Race | 24 comments (24 topical)

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It would add to our national shame (5.00 / 1) (#3)
by blogtopus on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:06:20 PM EST

for having the death penalty in the first place. It just shows that the death penalty is not for humans to decree for each other, whether it's in an alleyway, a battlefield, or a courtroom.

Amen, blogtopus. (none / 0) (#4)
by madamab on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:13:12 PM EST

People should not kill each other.


I rather appreciate that China uses the (none / 0) (#9)
by MarkL on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:26:34 PM EST

death penalty for white collar crimes.
If we do have the DP, then it's use should be interpreted broadly, IMO: a person like Ken Lay or Jeff Skilling causes far more misery---even death---than one murderer with one act.
I'm sure Jeralyn won't agree with me on this!
I don't favor the death penalty anyway; however, the DP for massive white collar criminal corruption might have a deterrent effect, given the amount of planning and consideration that has to go into such affairs.


: With Organ Banks coming up (none / 0) (#20)
by blogtopus on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 01:11:03 PM EST

I'm not surprised that China (or any country) isnt' using the dp for just about any infraction.
We should be praying for advances in mechanical replacements for our internal organs, or cloning technology. Otherwise, the poor will be placed into a whole different meat grinder than before.
[/paranoia]

40+ percent on death row are black (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by Dadler on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:24:47 PM EST

That overrepresentation screams quite loudly. And let's be serious here, no academic study can possibly "prove" what is in the hearts and minds of prosecutors, jurors, judges. Social science just doesn't work like that, and what you are left with is your own ability to see and hear and absorb what is all around you in your life and your society. We all know that no other man in America has as tough a task as the black man. You get followed and watched more closely the second you walk into a store, you have a harder time renting or buying a home, you get pulled over by the cops more often for simply driving your car (or, if you were my stepdad, you got pulled over just for being a black guy alone with a little white kid in your car). When more serious alleged crimes are tried, and when the alleged become the convicted, all those layers of historical and subconscious prejudice come into play -- and we see the clear and disturbing result.

Why (none / 0) (#11)
by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:31:34 PM EST

Why is that 40% overrepresentation? If greater than 40% of capital crimes are committed by blacks, then that 40% is underrepresentation


Abuse of prosecutorial discretion (none / 0) (#15)
by sonya on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:51:37 PM EST

Prosecutors decide what charges are to be lodged against an individual. It has been proven in numerous cases across the country that blacks are more likely to be charged with more serious crimes than whites for the same or lesser offenses. Hence, a disproportionate represenation of blacks convicted of capital offenses.


: What does that have to do with Huston? (none / 0) (#22)
by Abdul Abulbul Amir on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 01:31:47 PM EST

It has been proven in numerous cases across the country that blacks are more likely to be charged with more serious crimes than whites for the same or lesser offenses.
Individual cases across the country prove nothing other than the ability to cherry pick the cases you need to get the result you want. In addition, people are rarely charged for the same offense. Each offense has its own unique circumstances.

Although, Please Also Note (none / 0) (#13)
by The Maven on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:44:21 PM EST

that fairly consistently (at least for the past decade or so), over 40 percent of the victims of homicide in this country are also black, according to the data compiled in the FBI's annual reports on Crime in the United States. Given that the overwhelming majority of murders are committed against one member of a racial group by another member of that same racial group (see also the same sets of data), the percentage cited here for death row inmates wouldn't appear to be at all out of line.

Mind you, looking solely at the aggregate numbers like this tells one nothing at all about potential bias in actual imposition of death penalty sentences, which is presumably one of the main goals of this study. And for the record, I have always supported the elimination of the death penalty, not only because of the possibility of error, but also because I am opposed to the concept of victim's justice in a criminal setting, and all too often that is what the death penalty has come to stand for.


Prosecutors' initial decisions . . . (5.00 / 1) (#12)
by wurman on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:41:32 PM EST

In my non-legal, observational, somewhat local opinion, the racism occurs when a prosecutor chooses to seek the death penalty in specific cases. It appears as if a far higher percentage of the white killers benefit from plea bargains, reduced degrees of homicide charges & lesser sentences. Some of my friends perceive this as a result, generally, of access to "better" or "more skilled" counsel; i.e., the racism often occurs because the non-white killers are more frequently represented by public defenders. [Is there some knowledge that court-appointed attorneys are less qualified?]

It also seems apparent that there are far more black & hispanic killers awaiting execution than white folks. So, at every step in the process, there are fewer whites at risk of being put to death.

: In my (none / 0) (#21)
by Claw on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 01:22:26 PM EST

Legal experience, court appointed attorneys are generally very skilled. Their biggest problem is their outrageous caseload. This occasionally causes them to miss facts, fail to file motions, or otherwise fail to represent their client as competently as a non-indigent defender. There are many, many exceptions to this rule.
You put it very well; "at every step in the process, there are fewer whites at risk of being put to death." I would add that the same is true, statistically speaking, when we consider defendants at risk of serving significant prison time.

Interesting To See (none / 0) (#1)
by BDB on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:02:25 PM EST

if that second finding holds up to scrutiny. It wouldn't surprise me at all, it's just - as your post notes - not something that's been proven before.

It is tough to prove (none / 0) (#2)
by madamab on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:05:22 PM EST

any racial bias, and even tougher to prove gender bias, it seems.

If this is indeed proof, then I hope it will lead to a closer examination of the death penalty laws in this country.

I read about Cameron Todd Willingham (none / 0) (#5)
by bjorn on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:14:51 PM EST

yesterday, the man who was executed in 2004 in Texas for a crime he allegedly committed in 1991. About 10 months after he was executed, a report came out that showed no crime had actually been committed. He had been accused of arson and killing his three children. He argued right up to his death that he did not set the fire and tried to save his children. The arson report conclusively demonstrated the fire had not been set deliberately. The new science was applied to another case on death row and the man was exonerated and released. I don't know if Cameron Willingham was Black or white, but this is the first time I had seen a case where it was essentially proven that an innocent person had been executed.

What can you do that we haven't already done to get rid of the death penalty?

: Sorry, I meant what can WE do! (none / 0) (#6)
by bjorn on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:15:43 PM EST

How about Justice Powell? (none / 0) (#7)
by indy33 on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:16:59 PM EST

I think the most interesting part of the article was how the Supreme Court justice who wrote the majority opinion on one of the worst decisions the court has made wishes he could take it back! I understand the confusion with the particular case because there was no specific evidence offered by McCleskys' lawyers claiming racism in HIS case. In contrast though it seems crazy for the court to claim that evidence of systemic racism in sentencing would not be heard by the courts or sway its opinion. If you are a minority and all the evidence shows that minorities are sentenced unfairly then how could this not be relevant. I agree with the Prof. at the end of the article who says that future generations will look on us with disgust for allowing this to happen. Thanks Jeralyn for pointing me to another interesting and enlightening article and for championing the fight against the death penalty!

The Death Penalty (none / 0) (#10)
by AnninCA on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:26:39 PM EST

completely is untenable and has been since DNA was introduced and validated.

What percentage now are we up to for DNA results showing that "eye-witness" accounts are false?

Frankly, I KNOW this is true. My own personal "fishbowl" is eclectic."

I swear, I'm so unable to distinguish faces when it comes to my own Asian group. I'm OK with AA's. That's probably because I grew up in the South. So I have real life experience.

But I KNOW I'm somewhat blank on certain racial groups. That has nothing to do with my personal politics or attitudes. That has to do with experience and, to be honest, shyness. I'm too often shy about asking, "Are you Phillipino?" That would help me learn, but I'm so afraid of offending that I stay stupid.

I live in a highly diverse city. I love it. I love the cultural diversity, and I'm still embarassed to ask.

My conclusion as to how this relates to crime politics?

The death penalty is simply unacceptable.

I have no problem allocating funds to keep highly dangerous criminals incarerated for life. It's a lot less expensive than the death penalty.

But then, I'm appalled by the prison conditions and think we're in for huge money payouts in the future.

In my area, Orange County Sherrif's department just allowed the 2nd pedophile to be killed like a rat.

Except......this guy wasn't really a pedophile.

It's a complete and horrible mess, perpetrated by the far right.

I'm as opposed to the far left dictating politics, btw. They aren't any better.

Basically, no on death penalty (none / 0) (#14)
by BarnBabe on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:45:14 PM EST

Simply put, IMO, if we kill someone, aren't we then a killer? And how many have been executed over the years that might have been innocent. There is no playing God with other's lives. Death is not a deterent as for some, death is the easy way out. Look at school shooters. They kill themselves also in the end to avoid spending the rest of their life in jail. They know the consequence. Prison does not look like it would be fun.

As to more minorities being executed, maybe it comes down to whites having better lawyers or making more plea deals. Maybe it comes down to demographics once again in each state.

I was philosophically opposed to (none / 0) (#16)
by oculus on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:58:28 PM EST

the death penalty until I read the unpublished writing of a man who preyed on women visiting their husbands at a naval hospital. He worked there, got there names and home addresses, knew their husbands were hospitalized, tortured, raped, and murdered them--many of them. Sadistic SOB.

While I don't believe in the Death Penalty (none / 0) (#19)
by blogtopus on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 01:07:59 PM EST

I heartily agree that there should be some more leeway on the 'cruel and unusual punishment' -- after all, how do you deal with cruel and unusual crimes? A sense of proportion should be noted, not necessarily an eye-for-an-eye mentality: If a guy robbed billions of dollars from retirement accounts, leading to a lot of unnecessary deaths or general poverty, then that man should be put into hard labor for the rest of his life, doing jobs that the poor people are forced to do. No cable tv, no fun and games, zilcho.

As per rapists, make them work at a military base: I'm sure more than a few of the women there would be interested in meeting them, and not a few of the men, too.


: Not sure about you last paragraph. This fellow (none / 0) (#23)
by oculus on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 01:55:50 PM EST

would be torn limb from limb at a U.S. military base if his crimes were known. A really despicable fellow. He volunteered for the death penalty against the advice of his attorney. The CA Supreme Court wouldn't let him do it.

OT Obama on TV throwing Wright Under The Bus. (none / 0) (#18)
by Saul on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 12:59:53 PM EST

In talking about gender and racial disparities (none / 0) (#24)
by JSN on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 02:02:49 PM EST

one need a frame of reference. If we use the county as a whole as a reference there is a very large death row gender disparity but why should we use the whole country as most people don't do crime. If we use all death rows as a reference and persons serving LWOP where there is no DP the racial and gender ratios look normal.

From the link: (none / 0) (#25)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Tue Apr 29, 2008 at 02:03:51 PM EST

Scott Durfee, the general counsel for the Harris County district attorney's office, rejected Professor Phillips's conclusions and said that district attorneys there had long taken steps to insulate themselves from knowing the race of defendants and victims as they decided whether to seek the death penalty. [...]
Indeed, the raw numbers support Mr. Durfee.
John B. Holmes Jr., the district attorney in the years Professor Phillips studied, 1992 to 1999, asked for the death sentence against 27 percent of the white defendants, 25 percent of the Hispanic defendants and 25 percent of the black defendants. (Professor Phillips studied 504 defendants indicted for the murders of 614 people. About half of the defendants were black; a quarter each were white and Hispanic.)