Throughout the class I have stated that I am against the death penalty. By learning about social protest I have gained an understanding of what keeps the movement moving forward. The movement against death penalty has made it possible for researches and groups to speak out and bring truth about the issue to the public. By learning facts and opinions about groups who are opposed to the death society may one day realize that the death penalty should be banned!
Today’s justice system has strived to protect their citizens by giving them equal civil rights but undoubtedly it is hard for the system to be unbiased. For example when a black man murders or rapes a white woman it is more likely that he will be sentence to life in prison or even death row compared to a white man who rapes a white woman and only receives several years in prison. This kind of discrimination occurs all the time but it is as if no body seems to care until they are put in that situation. Just imagine if a person is accused of committing a heinous crime and he/she is sentenced to death row based on the color of their skin and later is to be found innocent. There is no going back for that individual and the life of a person is irreplaceable, this is why it is important to look into the problem of discrimination in the justice system.
In 2001 Shaheen Halim conducted a quantitative research study called Differential Support For Police Use Of Force, The Death Penalty, And Perceived Harshness Of The Courts. Effects of Race, Gender, and Region, to find out if gender, race, and geographical region have an impact on how people view criminal justice policies. One idea that is explored in this literature review is the view of minorities in certain regions towards the criminal justice system. Other main ideas include the effects of race and gender on justice policies, do certain race, gender, or regions show more or less support for capital punishment. The authors’ logical thinking about the issue is that even though it is clear that certain variables such as race show little support for use of force and justice policies, they still find instances where they do express support for these matters.
What the researchers found was that “68% of African Americans are less likely to support capital punishment” and about 74% of African Americans say that they believe the use of force by police is unnecessary (13). Researchers also found out that of those African Americans who support use of force they are less likely to show their support if force is used when a suspect is trying to escape capture. Research also shows that males are more likely to support capital punishment and the use of force by police. Results show that people with higher income and education support more the use of force but people with more education support less the use of capital punishment. One other thing that researchers found was that African Americans who live in the southern regions show even less support for capital punishment and the use of police force.
In another study called, Why do Americans support the Death Penalty?, the author Joe Soss studied the factors that contribute to why white people support the death penalty in the United States. Some of the key factors that he explores are racial attitudes, individual-levels, and context. For his study he “employ survey data from the 1992 ANES and contextual data from the 1990 U.S. Census” (Soss, 23). One of things the author did in his study was to include “an indicator of the black percentage of residents in each respondent's county. How might the local presence of African Americans affect white support for state executions” (Soss, 22)? The author found that the local presence of African Americans in the community does not decrease the support for death row by white people. He also found that white people with higher income are more likely to support the death penalty than white people with lower income.
In a different study called Lethal Border, the author Benjamin Steiner studied how Latinos have been portrayed in society. Some of the key terms he uses in his study are race, death row, jurors’ and class. The author investigates how it is Latinos are sentenced to death row, what ethnicity is the prosecutor of the Latino defendant belong to most of the time, and how jurors’ are more like to sentence Latinos to death row because of stories they have heard. The author uses a cross sectional study design and its participants were composed of 35 jurors all whom took part in cases dealing with capital punishment. What the author found was that jurors incorporated personal beliefs they had of Latinos into their decision to sentence them to capital punishment. This just goes to show that the justice system is biased and it is surrounded by discrimination.
Others like the Friends Committee to Abolish the Death Penalty thinks of Death Row in a general point of view. Friends Committee to Abolish the Death Penalty believes in “programs that address the root cause of crime while reorienting the criminal justice system toward rehabilitation rather than destruction.” Again, two wrongs don’t make a right, and instead of doing more harm, society should look forward to doing the right thing. The Friends Committee believes that “taking a life is beyond the authority of any human being...and ignores the human capability to change.” According to this organization, Death Row only teaches how much live is worth, rather than a lesson. There is always the possibility that a person might change for the better and make this world a better place. Like the saying goes, “a mind is a terrible thing to waste.”
Another group who is against the death penalty is the Pope and the Catholic Church. The Pope and the Church believe in life, and God’s will and his moral amendment. Gods teaches to forgive those who have sinned and to open your hearts to others. Their beliefs are that people have the right to live even if they committed a murder, because, “God alone is the Lord of life from beginning until the end.” To them, Death Row “is a illustrative of a diminished believe in God,” because people should be judged only after their natural death. It is not up to mortals to decide who should live and who should die.
Perhaps all of the facts and opinions have not changed the reader’s opinions about abolishing the death penalty but at least it has giving them and understanding of why people are against it. I hope that in some way this blog has made readers think about supporting the movement against the death penalty. Whether or not the majority is for the death penalty I will always believe it is immoral, unconstitutional, and cruel and unusual.
Reference:
Bright John. Friends Committee to Abolish the Death Penalty. “Friends Committee to Abolish the Death
Penalty”http://www.quaker.org/fcadp/. 2000
Fleury-Steiner, Benjamin (2004). Lethal Borders. Punishment & Society; Jan2004, Vol. 6 Issue 1, p67,
18p, 1
Halim, Shaheen (2001). Differential Support For Police Use Of Force, The Death Penalty, And Perceived Harshness Of The Courts. Effects of Race, Gender, and Region. CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND BEHAVIOR, Vol. 28 No. 1
Soss, Joe (2003). Why Do White Americans Support the Death Penalty? Journal of Politics; May2003, Vol. 65 Issue 2, p397, 25p, 1
Trosch C. David FR. Pope Versus Death Penalty. “Capital Punishment-“Cruel and Unnecessary.” 1993-1999.http://www.trosch.org/jpi/popedpen.html. 2000
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