Bureau of Justice Statistics. “Criminal offenders statistics.” Accessed online from: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/crimoff.htm

Culver, J. “Twenty years after Gilmore.” American Journal of criminal justice. Vol. 24, No. 1, 1999, pp. 1-14.

Race also plays a prominent role in sentencing for the death penalty as it normally coincides with socioeconomic status in this country. “Based on current rates of first incarceration, an estimated 28% of black males will enter State or Federal prison during their lifetime, compared to 16% of Hispanic males and 4.4% of white males” (Bureau of Justice…). This statistic is important because prior criminal convictions normally lead to the types of crimes that are tried for the death penalty. “Race is more likely to affect death sentencing than smoking affects the likelihood of dying from heart disease” (Dieter). In cases where the act is very heinous, race plays less of a part. But, unfortunately or fortunately depending on how one examines it, these cases are fewest in number. The defendants to victim ratios of the actual executions are very obviously racially skewed as this table illustrates. White defendant White victim 56.81% White defendant Black victim 1.17% White defendant Asian victim .47% White defendant Latino victim 1.64% Black defendant White victim 23.47% Black defendant Black victim 11.50% Black defendant Asian victim .47% Black defendant Latino victim .23%

Benac, N. “Nation’s executed often poor, uneducated.” Chronicle Tribune. Marion, IN. May 8th, 2001, A5. (Included)

Dieter, R. “The death penalty in black and white: who lines, who dies, who decides.” Death Penalty Information Center. June 1998. Accessed online from: http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/racerpt.htm

There have been a number of studies detailing the criminalization of minorities. In a 1989 report on The Sentencing Project, it was found that one out of every four African-American men aged 20 to 29 were either incarcerated, on probation, or out on parole. (Donziger) It was found in 1993 by a Federal Court in Duval County, Florida, that 76% of African-American men [in that county] would be arrested and jailed at least one time before the age of 36. (Donziger) Later, The Sentencing Project, in 1995, found that “on an average day in America, one out of three African-American men aged 20-29 was either in prison or jail, on probation or parole” (Donziger). These findings indicate that minorities are very obviously not given equal treatment in the criminal justice system. There are several groups who argue that the “death penalty is administered in disproportionately higher frequency on the poor, who cannot afford qualified counsel, and minorities, who are widely represented on death row” (Facts on file…). These groups include some of the following: American Civil Lib

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