Capital Punishment in the US

Contr everywheresy over the use of the ending penalty as well has a history among the very(prenominal) members of the Supreme court of justice who reauthorized its use. One of the biggest aspects of controversy is the fact that hood punishment appears to be meted out with diverge. In 1987, Supreme Court Justice William Brennan wrote that "The demonstrate shows that there is a better than change surface chance in Georgia that race will cultivate the decision to impose the death penalty," (Stevenson, 1996, p. 18). In fact, Brennan continued to remark a majority of members on the Supreme Court for upholding the constitutionality of a punishment "?in which race more than likely plays a role," (Stevenson, 1996, p. 18). Therefore, the inglorious history of race bias in the capital-sentencing establishment means that the period after Furman v. Georgia has non witnessed improvements by states in meting out such sentences in a fairish and unbiased manner.

The current scenario of capital-sentencing demonstrates even greater race bias than in the past, especially due to new technologies like deoxyribonucleic acid testing that have cleared numerous minority inmates on death row from the crimes charged against them. The capital-sentencing of individuals has rapidly increased over the twenty years since the death penalty was reauthorized. Stevenson (1996

, p. 16) maintains that there are currently 3,100 inmates awaiting execution on death row. Ross (1994, p. 32) demonstrates the disproportionate amount of African Americans on death row, equal in number to 40 per centum of inmates on death row though comprising only 12 percent of the U.S. population. State percentages are as out of alignment as matter ones.

Future Implications & Recommendations

When lawmakers, members of the criminal justice transcription and interested citizens lose assent in the fairness of act of law, the sinless criminal justice system and its validity suffer. I appoint that this state immediately commute all sentences of death row inmates to life in prison, in light of overwhelming evidence of the biased nature of capital-sentencing application in the U.S.

I also strongly argue for the drafting of legislation that will articulate national standards for all states with respect to applying the death penalty in U.S. courts, if the death penalty or capital punishment is not banned once more. Until such standards are developed, it is likely umteen more African Americans and other minorities will be condemned to interrupt due solely to bias and prejudice. When even the nation's highest Justices and legislators lose faith in the justice of the criminal justice system, it is high clock for reform. As such, Congress should adopt legislation halting the application of capital punishment, commute the sentences of those on death row, and develop national standards of capital punishment application before considering whether to reintroduce it as a punishment in the U.S. Donna Coker (2003, p. 827) maintains that the criminal justice system has a "? intent to pretend that the ground we all have it away is not the world in which law enforcement operates?a raceless world?a constructed reality in which most [criminal justice professionals] do not act on the basis of race." This is a tendency that holds dangerous implications for those unfairly sentenced to death row and
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