The Effects Of Race On Sentencing In Capital Punishment Cases

Part I of Essay
Sam Houston State University, Huntsville CJ 478W-Introduction To Methods Of Research TTH 8:00-9:30 Throughout history, minorities have been ill-represented in the criminal justice system, particularly in cases where the possible outcome is death. In early America, blacks ....

Part II of Essay
.... controls, the death penalty could be used constitutionally. Yet, even with these various controls, the system does not effectively eliminate racial bias. Since Gregg v. Georgia the total population of all 36 death rows has grown as has the number of judicial controls used by each state. Of the 3,122 people on death row 41% are black while 48% are white (Gest, 1996, 41). This figure may be acceptable at first glance but one must take into account the fact that only 12% of the U.S. population is black (Smolowe, 1991, 68). Carolyn ....