I need help getting started on this question: Is our system of justice colorblind in the administration of the death penalty?
Here is the data given to us (Numbers like 422, 99, etc. represent the number of cases):
DEATH Black White
SENTENCES Victim Victim Total
Black
Defendants: 76 of 422 21 of 99 97 of 521
White
Defendants: 1 of 25 17 of 121 18 of 146
Total: 77 of 447 38 of 220 115 of 667
To determine if our system of justice is colorblind in the administration of the death penalty, we need to analyze the data provided.
First, let's break down the data to understand the different categories:
- Black Defendants:
- Black Defendant, Black Victim: 76 cases
- Black Defendant, White Victim: 21 cases
- Total Black Defendants: 97 cases
- White Defendants:
- White Defendant, Black Victim: 1 case
- White Defendant, White Victim: 17 cases
- Total White Defendants: 18 cases
- Total Defendants: 115 cases (97 black defendants + 18 white defendants)
- Victims:
- Black Victim: 38 cases
- White Victim: 220 cases
- Total Cases: 667 cases (sum of all cases)
Now, to evaluate whether the system of justice is colorblind, we need to assess the proportion of defendants sentenced to death based on their race and the race of their victims.
1. Proportion of Black Defendants Sentenced to Death:
To calculate this, we divide the number of black defendants sentenced to death by the total number of black defendants:
Proportion = 76/97 = 0.7835 (approximated to four decimal places)
Approximately 78.35% of black defendants were sentenced to death.
2. Proportion of White Defendants Sentenced to Death:
To calculate this, we divide the number of white defendants sentenced to death by the total number of white defendants:
Proportion = 1/18 = 0.0556 (approximated to four decimal places)
Approximately 5.56% of white defendants were sentenced to death.
3. Proportion of Black Victims:
To calculate this, we divide the number of cases with black victims by the total number of cases:
Proportion = 38/667 = 0.057 (approximated to three decimal places)
Approximately 5.7% of cases involved black victims.
4. Proportion of White Victims:
To calculate this, we divide the number of cases with white victims by the total number of cases:
Proportion = 220/667 = 0.330 (approximated to three decimal places)
Approximately 33.0% of cases involved white victims.
Based on these calculations, we can see that black defendants make up a disproportionately high percentage of those sentenced to death, compared to white defendants. Additionally, the proportion of cases involving black victims is significantly lower than the proportion of cases involving white victims.
This suggests that there may be racial disparities in the administration of the death penalty, indicating that our system of justice might not be entirely colorblind. However, further analysis, statistical tests, and consideration of other factors would be necessary to draw conclusive findings on the matter.