Death Penalty and Race

Abstract

There has always been an association between race and the death penalty in America, which should not be surprising given the history of racial animus in the country. This animus has been expressed in both formal and informal attempts to discipline racial minorities from the Slave Codes, lynchings after reconstruction, Jim Crow laws, to the historical and current imposition of the death penalty. In the past African American offenders were more likely to fare worse at every decision‐making point in the capital punishment system. Now, those who slay white offenders are consistently more likely to ultimately find themselves on death row. Although there have been attempts to legally reform the death penalty, it continues to be fraught with racial disparity in its administration.