Problem
You are a Supreme Court Justice. You and the eight other justices are currently deciding a case about the death penalty in America. One attorney represents a defendant currently on death row; the other represents the state that has sentenced this man to death. The defendant is African American. His attorney argues that the death penalty is inherently discriminatory; even though African Americans make up only 13.2% of the American population, they account for 34.5% of the death row inmates that have been executed (see data from the Census and the National Prison Survey). The state's attorney argues that the disparity in execution rates is because of a difference in criminal offending. Although African Americans make up 13.2 % of the American population, they make up 52.4% of those arrested for homicide. Before you decide this case, let's review some key concepts. According to the state's attorney, which of the following best explains the disparity between African Americans and whit Americans who receive the death penalty?
i. There is a disparity in geographic location; African Americans live in places that are more likely to use the death penalty than white Americans.
ii. There is a disparity in offending; African Americans are more likely to commit homicide than white Americans.
iii. There is disparity in application; states choose to execute African Americans who murder more frequently than white Americans who murder.
iv. There is a disparity in sentencing; juries are more likely to vote for the death penalty for African Americans who kill than white Americans who kill.