Capital Punishment / Death Penalty Essay

, 2010, p. 428). In a country where Blacks represent only 13% of the population, as of 2010 they made up "twenty-eight of the fifty-seven (49%) of inmates on federal death row," Cohen writes on page 428.

Speaking of the "geography of the federal death penalty," Cohen asserts that six of the ninety-four federal judicial districts account for fully "one-third of death authorizations." Seven federal districts are responsible for "…approximately 40% of the individuals on federal death row," Cohen explains on page 428, though he doesn't identify where the districts are located. Juxtapose those data with the fact that two-thirds of districts have never sentenced anyone to death, and you see the difficulty in justifying the geographic breakdown of death penalty cases.

Conclusion

Clearly there are problems -- very serious problems -- within the system of justice when it comes to the death penalty. Why, for example, do 80% of the cases in which a U.S. Attorney requests permission to seek the death penalty involve a minority group defendant? And why do U.S. Attorneys seek authorization to put people to death "twice as often in cases involving black defendants and non-black victims" as cases that involve black defendants and black victims? Indeed, as the ABA contends, there should be a moratorium on the death penalty until serious questions and the previously mentioned troubling issues can be resolved.

Works Cited

American Bar Association. (2001). Death Without Justice: A Guide for Examining the Administration of the Death Penalty…