The North Carolina Racial Justice Act was a step in the right direction towards redressing the unfairness in our system of capital punishment. It is time we end all-white juries and disparate sentencing of people of color relative to their white counterparts. More than half of North Carolina's 161 death row inmates are African-American.
As the daughter of murder victims and a member of Murder Victims' Family Members for Reconciliation (http://www.mvfr.org/), I know the statistics regarding racial bias in the system: the odds are three and a half times greater that a person will be sentenced to death if the victim is white than if the victim is African-American.
We must make absolutely certain we don't execute innocent people. Human error, corruption, circumstantial evidence, ineffective attorneys and racial discrimination pose high risks to justice. We have convicted — and executed — many innocent people in this country. In his column, “Gell case shows death penalty math doesn't add up,” Dave Russell cited both exonerations and high cost in his editorial opposition to the ultimate penalty.
Moreover, studies show clearly that the death penalty does not provide deterrence against future crime or restorative justice to victims. It is time we end executions in North Carolina.
Source: www.citizen-times.com
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Death Penalty Deterrence? Yes, of course.
Dudley Sharp, contact info below
Of course the death penalty deters. All prospects of a negative outcome deter some. It is a trusim.
23 recent deterrence studies finding for deterrence, Criminal Justice Legal Foundation,
http://www.cjlf.org/deathpenalty/DPDeterrence.htm
"Deterrence and the Death Penalty: A Reply to Radelet and Lacock"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/07/02/deterrence-and-the-death-penalty-a-reply-to-radelet-and-lacock.aspx
"Death Penalty, Deterrence & Murder Rates: Let's be clear"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2009/03/death-penalty-deterrence-murder-rates.html
"The Death Penalty: More Protection for Innocents"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/07/05/the-death-penalty-more-protection-for-innocents.aspx
Dudley Sharp
e-mail sharpjfa@aol.com, 713-622-5491,
Houston, Texas
Mr. Sharp has appeared on ABC, BBC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, FOX, NBC, NPR, PBS , VOA and many other TV and radio networks, on such programs as Nightline, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, The O'Reilly Factor, etc., has been quoted in newspapers throughout the world and is a published author.
A former opponent of capital punishment, he has written and granted interviews about, testified on and debated the subject of the death penalty, extensively and internationally.
Pro death penalty sites
essays http://homicidesurvivors.com/categories/Death%20Penalty.aspx
http://prodpinNC.blogspot.com/
http://www.cjlf.org/deathpenalty/DPinformation.htm
http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/links/dplinks.htm
http://www.coastda.com/archives.html
http://www.lexingtonprosecutor.com/death_penalty_debate.htm
http://www.prodeathpenalty.com
http://yesdeathpenalty.googlepages.com/home2 (Sweden)
http://www.wesleylowe.com/cp.html
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