LogFAQs > #980389357

Westernwolf4 posted...

I completely oppose the death penalty for the reasons outlined in the thread,,but I want to emphasize that it isnt awful just because innocent people are executed. It is also unconscionable because it is unfairly applied even to the guilty.

If you are a different race than white or too poor to afford good representation, you are orders of magnitude more likely to get a death sentence than a white person with money. Simple as that, and backed by years of data.

Even if you think some people deserve to die for their crimes, we are simply not wise enough to administer it fairly. We never will be.

I actually wrote a paper about sentencing disparities in regards to the death penalty. One of the interesting things I found when researching it is that it also matters who the victims are. I don't remember the stats off the top of my head but basically if you kill a white woman you're more likely to get the death penalty than if you killed a black woman and if you're a black man accused of killing a white woman you're much much more likely to get the death penalty