Get documents about "DEATH PENALTY STATISTICS
Document Sample
Death Penalty
• Genesis 9:6 – Whosoever sheddeth a
man’s blood, so shall his blood be shed.
• Exodus 21:12 - Anyone who strikes a man
and kills him shall surely be put to death.
• John 8:7 – If any one of you is without sin,
let him be the first to throw a stone at her.
The Capitol Punishment Debate
• Is it ever morally justified to deliberately take the
life of any person, even a person who has killed
another?
• How does one reconcile being anti-abortion but
pro-death penalty or being pro-abortion but anti-
death penalty?
• Does sanctity of life apply only to innocents?
The Capitol Punishment Debate
• Is an ultimate retribution for an ultimate
crime necessary for justice, or for society’s
upholding of the value of life?
• Given it’s limited use is the death penalty
actually effective in deterring crime?
The Capitol Punishment Debate
• Is the death penalty necessary for the
incapacitation of dangerous criminals?
• OR
• Would a sentence of life without the
possibility of parole be as effective as the
death penalty in deterring crime and
protecting society from criminals?
The Capitol Punishment Debate
• Does the value of capitol punishment
justify its cost and the diversion of scarce
resources from efforts to fight crime or
rehabilitate criminals?
The Capitol Punishment Debate
• How often are innocent persons executed
by mistake?
• Is the execution of the innocent a
necessary price to pay for the security of
society?
The Capitol Punishment Debate
• Should the United States Constitution's
prohibition of “cruel and unusual
punishment” apply to the death penalty?
The Capitol Punishment Debate
• What is the role of discrimination in the
disproportionate sentencing of blacks,
other minorities and the poor to death?
• Given the reality of discrimination in the
United States can the death penalty ever
be administered fairly?
The Capitol Punishment Debate
• How can judges and jurors be given
enough discretion to consider the
individual merits of each case without
decisions appearing to be “arbitrary and
capricious?”
The Capitol Punishment Debate
• Should the United States follow the lead of
the majority other developed nations that
have abolished capitol punishment?
Homicide Occurrence and the
Death Penalty
• 1973 – 1992
• 412,580 homicides
• 4,704 death sentences
• 1.14 death sentences per 100 homicides
• 1 in 88 chance of receiving the death penalty
Number of Inmates Received Under
Sentence of Death, 1973-2009
• 1973 42 2001 159
• 1974 149 2002 166
• 1975 298 2003 152
• 1980 173 2004 140
• 1985 261 2005 139
• 1990 251 2006 123
• 1995 313 2007 120
• 2000 224 2008 119
• 2009 112
DEATH ROW POPULATION
• RACE 1977-2009
•
• On Death Row Executed
• Total 7773 15.3 1188
• RACE
– WHITE .49 3774 .18 672 .57
– BLACK .41 3184 .13 411 .34
– HISPANIC .09 694 .13 91 .08
– Other .01 121 .11 14 .01
Death Row Population
– As of As of
– 12/31/08 Received Removed Executed 12/31/09
• Total 3210 112 97 52 3173
• White 1795 (.56) 65 49 31 (.60) 1780 (.56)
• Black 1343 (.42) 42 47 21 (.40) 1317 (.42)
• Other 72 (.02) 5 1 0 76 (.02)
Death Row Population
• WOMEN On Death Row 12-31-2009
• Total 60
• White 42 (.70)
• Black 15 (.25)
• Other 3 (.05)
CRIMINAL HISTORY PROFILE
Year End - 2009
• ALL WHITE BLACK HISPANIC
• Prior Felony
• Yes 65.7% 62.1% 71.4% 61.8%
• No 34.3 37.9 28.6 34.3
•
• Prior Homicide
• Yes 8.6% 8.8% 9.0% 6.7%
• No 91.4 91.2 91.0 93.3
•
• Legal Status at Time of Offense
• Charge Pending 7.7% 8.6% 7.6% 5.0%
• Probation 10.5 9.1 11.7 11.4
• Parole 15.2 12.9 16.5 19.2
• Prison Escapee 1.5 2.0 0.9 1.5
• Incarcerated 4.1 4.5 3.9 3.5
• Other Status 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.6
• NONE 60.6 62.5 58.9 58.9
Demographic Characteristics of
Prisoners – Year End 2009
Gender
Year End Admitted Removed
Total Inmates 3173 112 149
Gender
Male 98.1% 98.2% 100%
Female 1.9% 1.8% 0
Race
White 56.1% 58.0% 53.7%
Black 41.5% 37.5% 45.6%
Other 2.4% 4.5% 0.7%
Demographic Characteristics of
Prisoners – Year End 2009
• Education
– 8th Grade or less 13.5%
– 9th – 11th grade 36.0
– High School Grad/GED 41.5
– Any college 9.0
– Median 12th Grade
Demographic Characteristics of
Prisoners – Year End 2009
• Marital Status
– Married 22%
– Divorced/Separated 21
– Widowed 3
– Never Married 55
Age at Time of Arrest and Current
Yearend Admission Removals
Total # 3173 112 149
20-24 1.2 11.6 0
25-29 5.5 14.3 4.7
30-34 12.3 18.8 7.4
35-39 16.8 19.6 16.1
40-44 17.0 5.4 12.1
45-49 17.9 16.1 19.5
50-54 13.3 5.4 19.5
55-59 7.8 4.5 5.4
60-64 5.6 3.6 10.7
65 up 2.6 0.9 4.7
Mean Age 44 38 47
EXECUTIONS 1973-2008
• PERSONS OCCUPIED DEATH ROW 8115
• EXECUTED 1188 (14.6%)
• AVERAGE DEATH ROW TIME: 12 years, 7 months
• OTHER DISPOSITIONS 3754 (46.2%)
– STATUTE CHANGE 520 (06.4%)
– SENTENCE OVERTURNED 1,580 (19.5%)
– CONVICTION OVERTURNED 839 (10.3%)
– COMMUTATION 365 (04.5%)
– OTHER/UNKNOWN REASONS 34 (00.4%)
– OTHER DEATH 416 (05.1%)
•
• UNDER DEATH SENTENCE 12/31/2009 3173
DNA Reversals
• DNA Based Reversals
– Death Row Reversals 17
– Wrongful Convictions 252
– 34 states and Washington D.C.
• Actual Time Served 17 years
• Minorities 70%
• Actual Perpetrator Identified 40%
EXECUTIONS BY RACE
• RACE 1977-2009 % 2009 %
• WHITE 672 56% 24 46%
• BLACK 411 35% 21 40%
• HISPANIC 91 8% 7 14%
• OTHER 14 1% 0 0%
1188 52
• By State - 2009 By Region - 2009
• 24 – Texas North-East - 0
• 6 - Alabama South - 45
• 5 – Ohio Mid-West - 7
• 3 – Georgia, Oklahoma, Virginia West - 0
• 2 – Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee
1 – Indiana, Missouri
2010 (Advance) Texas – 17, Ohio – 8, Alabama – 5, Mississippi, Ohio, Virginia – 3
Georgia – 2, Florida, Louisiana, Arizona, Utah, Washington - 1
45 – males, 1 – female (VA)
METHOD OF EXECUTION
• 77 – 09 2009 2010
• LETHAL INJEC 36 STATES + FED’S 1016 52 44
• ELECTROCUTION 10 STATES 156 0 1 (VA)
• GAS 4 STATES 11 0 0
• HANGING 3 STATES 3 0 0
• FIRING SQUAD 3 STATES 2 0 1 (UT)
1188 52 46
MINIMUM DEATH PENALTY AGE
2006
• AGE 13 1 STATE
• AGE 14 3 STATES
• AGE 16 5 STATES
• AGE 17 5 STATES
• AGE 18 18 STATES + FED’S
• NO AGE 6 STATES
SPECIFIED
PENNSYLVANIA STATISTICS
• Death Row Population
• TOTAL WHITE BLACK OTHER
• 12/31/1999 230 74 144 12
• 12/31/2000 238 78 149 11
• 12/31/2001 241 81 149 11
• 12/31/2002 240 81 148 11
• 12/31/2003 230 79 140 11
• 12/31/2004 222 77 134 11
• 12/31/2005 218 75 132 11
• 11/23/2006 219 74 134 11
• 12/31/2007 224 80 134 10
• 12/31/2008 223 81 133 9
• 12/31/2009 218 5* 80 3* 129 2* 9 * = Female
• Received 2009 8 3 5 0
• Removed 2009 13 4 9 0
• Executed 2009 0 0 0 0
• Executed in Pennsylvania
1930 to Present - 155 Since 1977 - 3
Who Gets the Death Penalty
System Based Variables
• Whether the state has the death penalty.
• The breadth of the death penalty statutes in the
state.
– Murder 37 States and the U.S.
– Other Offenses: Sex with a minor, Kidnapping,
Treason, Drug Trafficking, Aircraft Hijacking, Perjury
resulting in Death
• The prosecutors attitude toward the death
penalty.
Who Gets the Death Penalty
System Dased Variables
• The availability of competent defense
counsel, with supporting resources,
including investigators, expert witnesses
and supporting staff.
• The attitude of the victims family.
• The cultural cross section of the
assembled jury.
Who Gets the Death Penalty
Crime/Criminals Variables
• The victims race and class.
• The actual or perceived innocence of the
victim.
• The number of victims.
• The heinousness of the crime.
Who Gets the Death Penalty
Crime/Criminals Variables
• The offenders prior criminal history.
• The absence of mitigating factors in the
criminals background.
• Clarity of the evidence pinpointing guilt.
Who Gets the Death Penalty
Crime/Criminals Variables
• In multiple defendant cases which of the
defendants is most to blame and is he/she
willing to take the blame.
• The defendants remorse of lack thereof.
• Where the defendant is from.
Death Penalty Communities
• A public order advocate style, politically
popular prosecutor.
• Public order advocate style Judges
• A jury pool dominated by conservative
public order advocates.
Death Penalty Communities
• A small lower class, including significant
numbers of blacks and Hispanics.
• Size of the town.
Criminal Victims
• Forensic fraud
• Mistaken identification (eye witness)
• Run away juries who convict or acquit
even with contradictory evidence.
• Jailhouse informants
Criminal Victims
• Dishonest prosecutors and police.
• Incompetent defense counsel.
Questions
• Should police and prosecutors who
knowingly contribute to a wrongful
conviction and execution be charged with
murder?
• Should the State be subject to a wrongful
death action by the family of the wrongfully
executed persons family?
Issues to Consider
• Seven of the ten States with the lowest homicide
rates do not have the death penalty.
• 95% of all current death row inmates are
indigent.
• Most death row inmates were represented by
public defenders or more likely court appointed
counsel.
Issues to Consider
• Blacks are four times more likely to receive the
death penalty than are whites for the same
offense.
• Studies have shown the death penalty, as well
as most other punishments have no deterrent
effect.
• The Untied States is the only advanced nation in
the world still using the death penalty.
Issues to Consider
• Actual innocence is not an appellate issue at the
Federal level and in some states depending on
the time limits for appeals.
• The death penalty is more expensive than life
without parole.
• Endless confinement for a full lifetime is a more
severe punishment than an early and painless
death.
Issues to Consider
• Based on recent DNA and eyewitness
exonerations there just cannot be any doubt that
innocent persons have been put to death.
• Is system biased based on the race, class,
gender and age of the offender and victim.
• Does support for the death penalty is say that it
is OK for the State to kill off undesirables.
Issues to Consider
• Is the death penalty justice or revenge?
• The death penalty is not
– Rehabilitation
– Deterrence
– Restoration
• The death penalty is incapacitation, but so
is life without parole.
Ponder This
• John 6:40 - For my Fathers will is that
everyone who looks to the Son and
believes in Him shall have eternal life, and
I will raise him up at the last day.
• John 11:23 - I am the resurrection and the
life. He who believes in me will live even
though he dies; and whoever lives and
believes in me will never die.
Think About It
• Do you believe that all those who confess
their sins and accept Jesus Christ as their
Lord and Savior will be admitted into the
Kingdom of God?
• If you believe this and a convicted
murderer has truly accepted Jesus Christ,
will he not be at the foot of God upon his
death?
DEATH PENALTY
