Color and the Consequences

Citation: Dieter, Richard C. "The Death Penalty in Black and White: Who Lives, Who Dies,
     Who Decides." Death Penalty Information Center. Death Penalty Information
     Center, 2010. Web. 5 Oct. 2010. <http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/
     death-penalty-black-and-white-who-lives-who-dies-who-decides#The%20Raw%20Data>.

This graph represents who is most likely to receive the death penalty depending on the race of the victim and the race of the defendant. Yes, most people could say that the death penalty has an effect on people of different skin color, but they do not say what the degree of their crime was. The murders in this graph could have been hate crimes. It basically describes that a nonblack defendant that kills a black victim is less likely to be given the death penalty, and a nonblack victim and black defendant is more likely to receive the death penalty. I believe the degree of the assailants crime should be the only thing that could effect the degree of their punishment. I will use this information to show that race has an effect in the decision making of a defendant who could receive the death penalty.