Introduction
The institution of the death penalty is one of the most acutely discussed both from the perspectives of criminal law practice and compliance with the principles of constitutional and international law. In the USA, the complexity and contradictory nature of the state doctrine regarding the ethnic problem are complemented by the decentralization of the federal system. The issue of ensuring the principle of equality, which is fundamental for modern jurisprudence, requires assessing various aspects, including the topics of gender, economic status, health, or age. However, one of the fundamental imperatives for the entire legal system is the prohibition of racial and national discrimination. In this regard, the assessment of the problem of racial disparities and their correlations with the principles of death penalty sentencing is of high importance not only from a legal but also from a social perspective. To analyze the current trends and potential bias, real statistics need to be utilized. Racial disparities in death penalty sentencing are an acute and controversial topic that sometimes leads to criticism and public discontent caused by the existing trends to protect the personal rights and freedoms of ethnic minorities.
Literature Review
To explain the phenomenon of racial disparities in relation to the practice of criminal punishment, some researchers resort to specific concepts and models. For instance, according to Spohn (2015), while discussing ethnic issues raised in death penalty sentencing, three theories can be applied – the critical race theory, the conflict theory, and the attribution theory. The author describes the critical race theory in the context of legislative initiatives and notes that it regards a justice system built on sociodemographic characteristics, including race, as a hierarchical one (Spohn, 2015). The conflict theory, as the researcher states, is based on the assessment of values and competing norms among the population, which are coordinated to maintain stability (Spohn, 2015). Finally, according to Spohn (2015), the attribution theory that does not focus on macro-level processes “posits that race-linked perceptions and stereotypes shape decisions” (p. 53). This concept highlights that the decision-making process in the criminal system allows for the division of society along racial lines, which, in turn, proves the existence of disparities and potential bias.
While considering the history of the formation of laws and bills against racial stereotypes and persecution, one should pay attention to the amended legislation. Steiker and Steiker (2015) draw attention to the situation in the mid-20th century and note that bias against racial minorities was a pervasive aspect of the criminal justice system. The lack of legal practices and norms led to the fact that stereotypes influenced the imposition of death sentences due to well-formed social opinions. However, over time, the situation changed, and the official statistics confirm this. According to the data that reflect the number of people of different races sentenced to death in different years, as a percentage, towards the end of the 20th century, the situation stabilized (“DPIC analysis,” 2020). At the same time, the 1990s were a period of emerging political, economic, and social attitudes. In the United States, this difficult time was associated with a significant increase in the number of death sentences (636 sentenced prisoners in 1980 and 2393 in 1990) (“DPIC analysis,” 2020, para. 11). Nevertheless, in terms of racial differences, in those years, the percentage of prisoners did not change significantly.
An increase in the number of death penalties at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries was not reflected in the differences in the number of sentences from the perspective of racial disparities. For instance, according to the official data, over the past 20 years, the ratio of white and black death-row prisoners has remained approximately identical. According to the statistics, the proportion of black and white prisoners was 46.2% and 42.7% in 2000, respectively, 43.9% and 41.7% in 2010, respectively, and 42.2% and 41.6% in 2019, respectively (“DPIC analysis,” 2020, para. 11). In addition, there is a downward trend in the overall number of death sentences in the two racial groups examined, but the opposite is true for Latino prisoners. In 2000, the share of this population sentenced to death was 9%, in 2010 – 11.9%, in 2019 – 13.4% (“DPIC analysis,” 2020, para. 11). Thus, one cannot state unequivocally that the downward trend in the number of death sentences from a racial perspective is positive.
The assessment of the cases from American criminal practice confirms the ambiguity of the problem under consideration. Lee et al. (2015) analyze death sentences handed down to criminals from two racial groups and notes that, regardless of the number of white victims, the maximum penalty was applied to racial minorities more often. In this case, there is social bias, and statistics prove that racial discrimination exists in the criminal justice system. Espinoza and Willis-Esqueda (2015), in turn, note that public attitudes towards such a phenomenon as the death penalty are more favorable due to existing racial prejudices. In other words, long-standing views of ethnic inequality reinforce the beliefs of the racial majority that the death penalty should be retained as a mandatory phenomenon in the judicial system. This approach proves the existence of the problem of racial disparities and explains the need to study this topic in view of disagreements and supporters’ and opponents’ criticism.
Criticism of the Existing Criminal Procedure Practice
In a modern democratic society, the fight against racial discrimination is one of the important aspects due to the trend towards equality and personal freedom. Lee et al. (2015) provide examples from the 19th century and argue that the ideological doctrines and movements characteristic of that era, such as the Ku Klux Klan, can be considered terrorists. However, even in today’s liberal society, issues of inequality and racial discrimination arise. Moreover, these issues manifest themselves in such a highly regulated and controlled industry as federal legislation. If official regulators and policymakers allow for the application of individual views and judgments to a guilty verdict, this system needs revising. With regard to the death penalty, when a person’s life is at stake, no stereotypes or personal reasoning can be objective. Therefore, addressing racial disparities within the framework of this system is of high importance as a logical step towards the formation of a democratic society.
Suggestions for Improving the Policy
Since the existence of racial disparities in relation to the system of criminal punishment and, in particular, death penalty sentencing is statistically confirmed, addressing this issue should be part of the federal policy. The work to mitigate social prejudices is to begin in the legal framework to create a clear vision among the population that the government has an interest in resolving ambiguities and controversial opinions. In this regard, one of the tools to improve the existing criminal procedural law in relation to cases involving racial issues is engaging additional and independent commissions to analyze specific cases. The social background and personal interests of people involved in death penalty debates cannot be utilized as a justification for making such tough decisions. Therefore, additional discussions of controversial cases and the engagement of independent expert commissions are valuable interventions that can help overcome the barrier of racial inequality in sentencing.
Personal View on the Topic
Criminal prosecution in conditions of racial disparities creates challenges for both the majority and the minority. If such a severe conviction as the death penalty is imposed on an African American, this is the reason for an additional discussion and analysis. At the same time, the white population is also at a disadvantage. Capital punishment applied to a citizen of a dominant ethnic group can be perceived as an attempt to balance existing disparities, thereby being an equally dangerous form of bias. Thus, legal proceedings should take place in the framework of justice that is based solely on the legal assessment of a crime, without taking into account any additional factors that may be regarded as prejudices.
Conclusion
Today, fighting against any form of discrimination is a common trend, but racial disparities manifest themselves from different negative perspectives, and one of them is biased towards death penalty sentencing. The criticism of this phenomenon in academic literature confirms that the issue requires addressing at the highest possible level. Despite the downward trend in the number of executions, the proportion of racial minorities sentenced to capital punishment remains high. As a potential improvement to the existing policy, the involvement of independent expert commissions is necessary to assess disputed cases only in the legal field.
References
DPIC analysis: Racial disparities persisted in U.S. death sentences and executions in 2019. (2020). Death Penalty Information Center.
Espinoza, R. K., & Willis-Esqueda, C. (2015). The influence of mitigation evidence, ethnicity, and SES on death penalty decisions by European American and Latino venire persons. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 21(2), 288-299. Web.
Lee, J. G., Paternoster, R., & Rowan, Z. (2015). Death penalty and race. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism, 1-5.
Spohn, C. (2015). Race, crime, and punishment in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Crime and Justice, 44(1), 49-97. Web.
Steiker, C. S., & Steiker, J. M. (2015). The American death penalty and the (in) visibility of race. The University of Chicago Law Review, 82(1), 243-294.