Crime

DEATH PENALTY QUESTIONED

 Noted criminologist John J. DiIulio is calling for abolition of the death penalty, contending that it is administered capriciously under conditions that vary from state to state.  "Since we can't apply it fairly," he writes, "we ought to consider abolishing it."
  • According to a report released yesterday by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, a total of 45 prisoners were executed in 1996 by 19 states -- including three in Texas.

  • During the first 11 months of 1997, 70 prisoners were executed by 16 states; 36 were executed in Texas alone.

  • A total of 38 states authorize the death penalty, but most of them rarely use it.

  • The ratio of persons murdered to persons executed for murder from 1977 to 1996 was about 1,000 to one.
DiIulio estimates that "we may already have passed the day when 500,000 murderers, convicted or undetected, are living in society."

Nevertheless, most Americans of all races strongly support the death penalty.  In every major opinion survey conducted since 1976, two-thirds or more of all Americans have endorsed the death penalty for murderers; solid majorities of African-Americans have supported it in every survey since 1989.

In 1994, 60 percent of all citizens -- including 55 percent of blacks -- favored executing teenagers found guilty of murder.

Source: John J. DiIulio (Princeton University), "Abolish the Death Penalty, Officially," Wall Street Journal, December 15, 1997.
 

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