Who is on Death Row?

Blog Post # 2

Capital punishment is a nationwide problem. Many states have tried to get capital punishment abolished by taking their appeals to the Supreme Court. In 2008 the Court ruled that the three-drug lethal injection is not cruel and unusual punishment and is constitutional (1). This is the most common method of execution used by most states.  However, that same year the Court did rule that it is unconstitutional to impose death for child rape or any crime which was committed without the intention to inflict death and where death did not result (1).California seems to be the state with the most hype surrounding their death penalty, seeing how they are the state with the highest number of inmates on death row.The problem seems to be that California does not have enough resources in relation to the number of inmates on death row. California consistently sentences inmates to death, causing a backlog in death penalty cases in the California Supreme Court. At one point, Chief Justice George proposed a constitutional amendment to move some capital cases to the appellate courts (1). This was later withdrawn because of the budget concerns California faces. Studies show that prosecutors are more likely too seek the death penalty when the victim is white and less likely when the victim is black (2). As a result, in cases where the victim is white, African Americans are three times more likely to receive the death penalty in cases where the victim is white. It is no secret that the death penalty is not a fair process.

 (1) Colon, Sara. Capital Crime: How California’s Administration of the Death Penalty Violates the Eighth Amendment. California Law Review Inc. 2009. Page 1377-1381

2. “Amnesty International USA - Death Penalty Abolition Campaign.” August 2009. http://www.amnestyusa.org/abolish