A new study finds that defendants who murder whites are more likely to be sentenced to death than those who murder blacks."Our analysis builds on the usual distinction between race-of-defendant and race-of-victim discrimination. Both forms of discrimination violate the principle of "comparative justice," which requires comparable treatment of offenders who are similarly situated in terms of criminal culpability and deathworthiness. Racially discriminatory administration of the death penalty violates comparative justice because it: (a) differentiates among offenders on the basis of morally and legally irrelevant factors, and (b) results in the similar treatment of offenders who materially differ in terms of their criminal culpability. The bottom line indicates that 81% of the executed defendants had white victims. The proportion of white-victim cases among all death-sentenced, as contrasted to executed, defendants is also known in eight states for the period from 1977 through 2000. With the exception of Pennsylvania, the average white-victim rate among death-sentenced offenders is 83% and ranges from 85% in Arizona to 82% in Virginia. Blacks are 22 times more likely to be put to death when the victim is white.
- Executions by Race of Victim: 1976-2002
White Victim Percentage
1. Texas 79% (229/289)[su'b']
2 Virginia 80% (70/87)
3. Missouri 78% (46/59)
4. Oklahoma 78% (43/55)
5. Florida 80% (43/54)
6. Georgia 94% (29/31)
7. South Carolina 64% (18/28)
8. Louisiana 81% (22/27)
9. Alabama 76% (19/25)
10. Arkansas 92% (22/24)
11. North Carolina 87% (20/23)
12. Arizona 86% (19/22)
13. Delaware 69% (9/13)
14. Illinois 75% (9/12)
15. California 80% (8/10)
16. Indiana 89% (8/9)
17. Nevada 100% (9/9)
18. Mississippi 67% (4/6)
19. Utah 100% (6/6)
20. Ohio 80% (4/5)
21. Washington 100% (4/4)
22. Nebraska 100% (3/3)
23. Maryland 100% (3/3)
24. Pennsylvania 67% (2/3)
25. Kentucky 100% (2/2)
26. Montana 100% (2/2)
27. Oregon 100% (2/2)
28. U.S. 0% (0/2)
29. Colorado 100% (1/1)
30. Idaho 100% (1/1)
31. New Mexico 100% (1/1)
32. Tennessee 100% (1/1)
33. Wyoming 100% (1/1) [more 
] and [more]
From David C. Baldus and George Woodworth. Race Discrimination and the
Legitimacy of Capital Punishment: Reflections on the Interaction of
Fact and Perception. 53 DePaul L. Rev. 1411. Summer 2004
- The Death Penalty Debate [more ]