death penalty

1.) Explanation of problem: Racial and gender disparities in death sentencing are not important enough to cast doubt on execution as a penalty for crime, however the numbers are astonishing. Death Sentencing: As you may know, the death penalty is often criticized for having a racial skew, and pages from the Death Penalty Information Center provide lots of data and reports on this front. One of many statistics on these pages I find notable is that out of roughly 1250 persons executed in the US in the modern era, more than 250 black defendants have been executed for killing white victims, but only 16 white defendants have been executed for killing back victims. Far less frequently discussed are the apparent gender disparities in the application of the death penalty in the United States, though this page from the Death Penalty Information Center and this report from Professor Victor Streib provides coverage of this issue. The data from these sources reveals that women account for about 10% of all murder arrests, but that women make up less than 2% of death rows (55 / 3,261) and less than 1% of those executed (12 / 1,250+). Indeed, in the last 8 years, nearly 450 men have been executed, while only 2 women have been executed (0.45%). Roughly speaking, when immigration offenses are excluded (because 90% involve hispanic offenders), the general population of federal defendants sentenced is about 1/3 white, 1/3 black and 1/3 hispanic. But for child porn offenses, the sentenced defendants are almost 90% white and only 3% black and 6% hispanic. Similarly, the general population of federal defendants sentenced is about 85% male and 15% female. But for child porn offenses, the sentenced defendants are over 99% male and less than 1% female. I feel that if you do the crime you get what you are sentenced to and each case is unique in and of itself and based on the circumstances you get what is coming to you.
2.) Evidence: “Today, 33 states allow capital punishment; in

Cited: David B. Magleby; Paul C. Light; Christine L. Nemacheck. State and Local Government by the People. Sixteenth Edition ed. N.p.: Pearson Education, 2014,2012,2010. Print. Ezoic. "BalancedPolitics.org." - Death Penalty (Pros & Cons, Arguments For and Against, Advantages & Disadvantages). Ezoic, n/a. Web. 03 Nov. 2013. Racial and Gender Disparities in Death Sentencing and Federal Kiddie Porn Prosecutions. "Sentencing Class @ OSU Moritz College of Law." : Racial and Gender Disparities in Death Sentencing and Federal Kiddie Porn Prosecutions. N/A, 24 Aug. 2011. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.