The Effects of Race on Sentencing in Capital Punishment Cases

The Effects of Race on Sentencing in Capital Punishment Cases
Throughout history, minorities have been ill-represented in the criminal justice system,
particularly in cases where the possible outcome is death. In early America, blacks were lynched
for the slightest violation of informal laws and many of these killings occurred without any type of
due process. As the judicial system has matured, minorities have found better representation but
it is not completely unbiased. In the past twenty years strict controls have been implemented but
the system still has symptoms of racial bi…