CRIM 205 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Baldus De Ubaldis, Homicide, Reversible Error
6 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Myth of effectiveness of death penalty as crime control policy. Disciplines of crim,econ,pol, and history think death penalty is flawed. Believe less expensive to execute than prison for life. Phase 1 presentation of evidence and aggravating factors. Penalty phase -urges jury to return a death verdict. Primary difference between new and old statutes is mitigating/aggravating factors. Death proponents argue that these factors eliminated arbitrariness. But in reality, discriminatory practices/arbitrariness have not been erased. Interaction between victim/defendant race that has the greatest impact. Minority defendant, white victim =more likely death sentence. Whites are more valued than blacks -baldus, pulaski, woodworth 1983. 2000 murder cases in 1970s found death penalty was 4. 3 times more likely to be requested when victim was white. Black defendant killing white victim =70% of the cases death penalty vs 15% when both are black. Mccleskey sentenced to death in 1979 killing white policeman. 80% since 1977 people executed were convicted because of white victim.
