Just from memory, aren't the statistical distributions of whites and blacks on death row incorrect? That is there are far more blacks then there should be??
This assumes, of course, that caucasians commit murders at the same rate as the black population. From what I have read, this isn't the case. Philadelphia, for instance, had the following statistics for 96-99:
Young African-American men run an extraordinary risk of becoming killers or being killed.
One cannot discuss murder in Philadelphia without discussing race. Between 1996 and 1999, three out of four murder victims were African American, despite the fact that less than half of the city’s population is African American. Out of 1,460 homicides, 1,083 victims were African American (74%). In contrast, 191 victims were Hispanic (13%), 158 were Caucasian (11%) and 28 were Asian American (2%).
Furthermore, three out of four of the alleged murderers were African American (76%). Less than one-fifth (17%) were Hispanic, 1 in 20 was Caucasian (5%) and 1 in 50 was Asian American (2%).
Thus, murder in Philadelphia consists primarily of black-on-black violence. Of all the African Americans murdered, 95 percent were killed by another African American. Seventy-seven percent of Hispanic murder victims were killed
by another Hispanic. Caucasians and Asian Americans, on the other hand, were both more likely to be murdered by an individual of another race. Forty-eight percent of Asian Americans were killed by another Asian American, and 44 percent of Caucasians were killed by another Caucasian.
Altogether, from 1996 to 1999, African-American males aged 18 to 24 constituted 2 percent of the city’s population, 24 percent of its murder victims (354 in total) and 40 percent of its alleged murderers (416 in total).
ppv.org
Blacks, in part, are more represented on death row because of the prevalence of poor, inner city black violence.
Derek |
