Renteria 1

Miberay Renteria

Judith McCann

English 1302. 213

4 May 2022

The Discriminatory and Barbaric Evil: The Death Row Penalty

The death penalty is a very divisive topic. More Americans support the death penalty

than oppose it: 60 percent of U.S. adults support the death penalty for murderers, with 27 percent

strongly supporting it. According to a new Pew Research Center poll, roughly four-in-ten people

(39%) oppose the death penalty, with 15 percent strongly opposing it. Ever since the eighteenth

century B.C., the death penalty has been used. Only twenty-four of the fifty states use the death

penalty; twenty-three do not, and the remaining three are under a governor-imposed total ban

(Williams 1). The death penalty should be abolished because it unfairly targets certain groups

and is essentially inhuman at its core.

Racial/Religious Disparities

Since the establishment of the death penalty in the 18th century B.C., racial and religious

disparities have been apparent. Crimes that constituted the death row penalty revolved around

something as simple as “marrying a Jew” (“Early Death Penalty Laws”). Of course, there are

many more examples as such throughout history where the death row penalty specifically targets

certain groups. In a study by the name of “Who Lives and Dies on Death Row?” it is clearly

stated that a certain race and/or minority is an important factor that ultimately influences what

the outcome of the death penalty will be:

 Renteria 2

The results show that cases involving minorities—with black or Latino offenders or

victims—have lower hazards of execution than cases in which both offenders and victims

are white. (Coverdill and Petrie 630)

Although it may seem as though one specific minority or race is targeted, it is not as simple as

that; any group can be unfairly condemned. Yet, in the same study, it was stated that “having

White victims will make Black and Latino offenders more likely to be executed” (Coverdill and

Petrie 632). As such, it seems the outcome of the targeted group will be dependent on several

factors. This racial disparity is not only witnessed in those sentenced to death row, but also

directly tied to the support and opposition of the penalty. It is noted in “Racial Differences in

Death Penalty Support and Opposition” that there is an obvious “racial gap in support of the

death penalty.” (qtd. in Baker et al. 202). Whereas, “White individuals are generally more

supportive” than Black individuals” (Baker et al. 202). Even so, it is evident that the death

penalty is not fair if being associated with a certain group will affect the sentencing process.

Regardless of the specific race or ethnicity, it is apparent that the outcome is still heavily

centered on targeting a certain group; whether it be Black, White, or Latino.

Gender Discordance in Death Row Sentencing

Essentially, the death penalty unjustly targets certain groups; as aforementioned, race and

ethnicity are viable examples, but how about gender discrimination? In many regards, gender

plays a huge role in the treatment of an individual. Capital punishment is not an exception. In

short, “The Death Penalty and Gender Discrimination,” proves that the majority of female

offenders generally are not persecuted through the death row penalty (Rapaport 367).

Furthermore, the number of women that are sentenced to capital punishment is largely minuscule

in comparison to the number of men:

 Renteria 3

Only one woman has been among the 143 persons executed since executions resumed in

1977, after a decade-long moratorium during which the future of capital punishment in

the United States had been in doubt (qtd. In Rapaport 367).

Gender imbalancement has always been predominant, especially concerning the sentencing of

the death row penalty. Countless sources prove women are rarely placed on the death penalty. As

stated by Argys and Mocan, “in the year 2000, 98.5 percent” of the death row inmates were

male, and “about 43 percent of all death row inmates were black” (“Who Shall Live and Who

Shall Die?” 256). Furthermore, many have condemned the death row penalty application as

being irrevocably unjust due to the nature of it being dependent on gender: “in 1972, the U.S.

Supreme Court ruled that the administration of the death penalty at that time was

unconstitutional because there was no justifiable basis for determining who would live and who

would be sentenced to die” (Argys and Mocan 256). Further solidifying the argument of gender

and race are directly tied to the unfairness of the death row sentence. There should be no decisive

factors, such as gender patterns or race, between life and death; especially not when it comes to

the court of law. Therefore, the only solution would be to abolish the entirety of the penalty with

all its callousness.

The Barbaric Penalty: Death Row

Aside from being discriminatory and callous, the death row penalty is undoubtedly

barbaric. The existence of such an inhuman practice must be abolished. Among other reasons,

the death row penalty is known to be traumatic, painful, and degrading to all those involved.

When it comes to discussing capital punishment, many tend to lean towards the prisoners’ point

of view and experience, but what about their families? These families have to endure fathomless

grief, as well as deal with the negative stigma that “accompanies the death of a loved one due to
 Renteria 4

execution” (Jones and Beck 282). Imagine having to experience a family member or friend being

killed because of a crime, regardless if they were guilty or not. Some people still feel compassion

even towards people guilty of a crime. It is human nature. Many families experienced deprived

loss as stated in “Disenfranchised Grief and Nonfinite Loss”:

The stigma associated with having a loved one on death row is so enormous that the

families who were interviewed for this research frequently indicated that they do not feel

comfortable acknowledging their loss with anyone outside of their family (Jones and

Beck 291).

Being stripped from the right of feeling grief for a loss is dehumanizing and insensitive, Not

including the lack of mental health resources for these families.

As if disregarding the families of these prisoners is inhumane enough, the rise in suicide

further enforces that the death row penalty is barbaric. Despite the extent of surveillance in

maximum-security prisons, the number of suicides of death row members was greater than that

of the general population. In “Suicide on Death Row,” it was stated that “between 2001 and

2010, the suicide rate per 100,000 prisoners fluctuated between 14 and 17” (Tartaro and Lester

1656). This statistic is appalling when the “general population rate in the same community “ was

between “10.7 to 12.4” (Tartaro and Lester 1656). One of the factors that caused the increase in

death row suicides is the length of time spent in prison before the execution; this amount

averaged about 16.5 years in the year 2011 (Tartaro and Lester 1656). Not only is it traumatic to

have a person acknowledge their death, but also forces these people to maul over their death for

an extended period which is added onto the already existing guilt and psychological impact of

the crime committed; Undoubtedly, it will take a toll on the prisoner's mental health. It seems
 Renteria 5

that capital punishment incites more damage than good. Thus, such a practice should be

abolished.

Closing Thoughts

As flawlessly stated in “Death Row Chaplain,” “Death is not a deterrent to murder”

(Abramson 172). If anything, it is desensitizing humans to this type of behavior, in which

“lawful” murder is seen as acceptable. Countless other ways can be deployed to rightfully and

justly promote justice in the court of law. Many fall for the “equal justice” facade of the U.S.

Supreme Court, without paying heed to the corruptness encompassing the death row penalty

sentencing. Such a punishment, that is easily corrupted and influenced by personal affairs and

views, should not be lawful under any means and much less be practiced in the modern-day. It is

a barbaric practice whose history cannot be denied, but can certainly be learned upon and be

done with it. Man does not have the power to determine whether another human is worthy of

living or not.
 Renteria 6

Works Cited

Abramson, Leonard S. “Book Review: Death Row Chaplain.” Journal of Religion and Health,

vol. 2, no. 2, 1963, pp. 172–173.

A. Petrie, Michelle, and James E. Coverdill. “Who Lives and Dies on Death Row? Race,

Ethnicity, and Post-Sentence Outcomes in Texas.” Social Problems, vol. 57, no. 4, 2010,

pp. 630–652.

Argys, Laura M, and H. Naci Mocan. “Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die? An Analysis of

Prisoners on Death Row in the United States.” The Journal of Legal Studies, vol. 33, no.

2, 2004, pp. 255–282.

Baker, David, et al. “Racial Differences in Death Penalty Support and Opposition.” Journal of

Black Studies, vol. 35, no. 4, 2005, pp. 201–224.

Center, D. P. I. (2019, June 20). Early History of the Death Penalty. Death Penalty Information

Center.

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/facts-and-research/history-of-the-death-penalty/early-history-

of-the-death-penalty

Jones, Sandra J., and Elizabeth Beck. “Disenfranchised Grief and Nonfinite Loss as

Experienced by the Families of Death Row Inmates.” OMEGA - Journal of Death and

Dying, vol. 54, no. 4, June 2007, pp. 281–299, doi:10.2190/A327-66K6-P362-6988.

Tartaro, Christine, and David Lester. “Suicide on Death Row.” Journal of Forensic Sciences, vol.

61, no. 6, 2016, pp. 1656–1659., doi:10.1111/1556-4029.13069.

 Renteria 7

Rapaport, Elizabeth. “The Death Penalty and Gender Discrimination.” Law & Society Review,

vol. 25, no. 2, 1991, pp. 367–383.

Williams, Keelah E.G., et al. “Capital and Punishment: Resource Scarcity Increases

Endorsement of the Death Penalty.” Evolution and Human Behavior, vol. 40, no. 1, 2019,

pp. 65–73. doi:10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.08.002.

“Most Americans Favor the Death Penalty despite Concerns about Its Administration.” Pew

Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy, Pew Research Center, 13 July 2021,

https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/06/02/most-americans-favor-the-death-penalt

y-despite-concerns-about-its-administration/.