We know the death sentence is administered in a racist way. The evidence is rock solid that blacks who kill whites are statistically more likely to get the death sentence than any other racial killer/victim pairing. Proving actual racial bias in a particular case is, however, an impossibly high bar, particularly as the jury is black box that can't be opened.
Therefore, to refuse to allow challenges on this basis is effectively to put your seal of approval on the practice of treating black lives more cheaply and treating it as worse crime more deserving of death for a black to kill a white.
I don't know how to describe this position except as reactionary and racist. Maybe evil, vile, hateful, dispicable, and contemptible. Indefenisble. Loathesome and disgusting. I am ashamed of you, Woj.
jks
--- Dennis Claxton <ddclaxton at earthlink.net> wrote:
> Wojtek wrote:
>
>
> >Indeed, there is a good reason why courts have
> >consistently ruled statistical evidence of that
> sort
> >inadmissible.
> >
> >Please note that I am not arguing that there is no
> >bias in sentencing such cases. All I am saying is
> >that one must demonstrate that bias on the
> individual
> >case basis rather by using statistical inference
> which
> >pertains to classes rather than individuals.
>
>
> So you don't think it's possible that the courts
> standard could be an
> expression of an unwillingness to face its own bias?
>
> and, just for grins, there's more statistical
> evidence of that sort here;
>
>
<http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=5&did=184>
>
> where you can find this quote:
>
> "In 82% of the studies [reviewed], race of the
> victim was found to
> influence the likelihood of being charged with
> capital murder or receiving
> the death penalty, i.e., those who murdered whites
> were found more likely
> to be sentenced to death than those who murdered
> blacks."
> - United States General Accounting Office, Death
> Penalty Sentencing,
> February 1990
>
>
>
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