Death Penalty Quotes

The death penalty is essentially an arbitrary punishment. There are no objective rules or guidelines for when a prosecutor should seek the death penalty, when a jury should recommend it, and when a judge should give it. This lack of objective, measurable standards ensures that the application of the death penalty will be discriminatory against racial, gender, and ethnic groups. -Rev. Jesse Jackson (1996)

When people of color are killed in the inner city, when homeless people are killed, when the "nobodies" are killed, district attorneys do not seek to avenge their deaths. Black, Hispanic, or poor families who have a loved one murdered not only don't expect the district attorney's office to pursue the death penalty--which, of course, is both costly and time consuming--but are surprised when the case is prosecuted at all. -Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ

When in Gregg v. Georgia the Supreme Court gave its seal of approval to capital punishment, this endorsement was premised on the promise that capital punishment would be administered with fairness and justice. Instead, the promise has become a cruel and empty mockery. If not remedied, the scandalous state of our present system of capital punishment will cast a pall of shame over our society for years to come. We cannot let it continue. -Justice Thurgood Marshall, 1990

Even under the most sophisticated death penalty statutes, race continues to play a major role in determining who shall live and who shall die. -Justice Harry Blackmun, 1994

By reserving the penalty of death for black defendants, or for the poor, or for those convicted of killing white persons, we perpetrate the ugly legacy of slavery-- teaching our children that some lives are inherently less precious than others. -Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, former President, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, 1989


"You escape the federal death penalty based on your race and residence. If you're an African American in Texas who commits a crime that could warrant the federal death penalty, you get it. If you're white in New York City, you probably don't." -Rev. Jesse Jackson

"Government ... can’t be trusted to control its own bureaucrats or collect taxes equitably or fill a pothole, much less decide which of its citizens to kill" -Helen Prejean, Dead Man Walking

A Little Bit About Me

Coming from a close minded small town in the south, to a large liberal public university has been a drastic change for me. Though my beliefs feel much more accepted here, I have found that some things have changed; one of those things being my apathy. Never having been forced to decide my stance on the death penalty for a particular reason, I had failed to do so. Both sides of the story have always made sense to me: sure, I think that it doesn't really seem like the governments role to judge who dies, but then again, if a family member of mine was murdered, would I want there to be the possibility that they would be put to death? As wishy washy as I once was, I am now the polar . I now can definitively say that I am strongly against the killing of individuals by the government. The institution is too flawed for there to be such an irreversible punishment available. There are racial issues, class issues, and regional issues, (which is referring to the large numbers killed in the south and not the north). Though I am against the death penalty for multiple reasons, I chose to polarize the issue of race as one of main reasons I am opposed to the death penalty.
I recently came upon an article in a New York Times archive that discussed the racial disparity in the sentencing of individuals, an example they pointed out is the difference in penalties for those convicted of using powdered cocaine, and those who use the less expensive crack cocaine. Those who use crack cocaine, meaning the lower class, majority black, get longer prison sentences. How is it not class discrimination when a different form of the same drug carries a worse punishment than another, it's like you're not quite as bad if you use the expensive powered cocaine. This is not just, fair, or "equal." Our constitution says that we are all created equally, but we are not treated this way.

Introduction

The death penalty is, and has been a controversial issue for decades. Every election year it is a topic for debate and discussion for the candidates; Republicans, who are usually in support of the death penalty, and Democrats who are generally against it.
Out justice system is flawed, and though there are countless reasons why I feel that the death penalty should be abolished, the main issue I will focus on is the disproportionate number of minorities killed in comparison to white Americans. Statistically African Americans are most often given the death penalty. I believe that this is not just a problem of racism, but also of classism. Generally those sentenced to death are of lower economic status and do not have the resources to pay for adequate representation. Often times court appointed lawyers are substandard compared to other lawyers who only work for the big bucks. The motivating factor of money is not there to drive them to succeed, they have nothing to lose. Race should not be a factor in determining death, and yet it is evident that color has an impact on the sentence of death. This needs to change; the underlying racism in the courts needs to disappear.