The Effects Of Race On Sentenc

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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 Snurkowski of the Florida attorney generals office believes that the disproportionate number of blacks on death row can be explained by the fact that, “Many black murders result from barroom brawls that wouldn’t call for the death penalty, but many white murders occur on top of another offense, such as robbery” (As cited in Gest, 1986, 25). This may be true but the Washington Legal Foundation offers their own explanation by arguing that “blacks are arrested for murder at a higher rate than are whites. When arrest totals are factored in , ‘the probability of a white murderer ending up on death row is 33 percent greater than in the case of a black murderer” (As ...

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