Enduring Injustice: The Persistence of Racial Discrimination in the U.S. Death Penalty

By Ngozi Ndulue

As this report was being written, tens of thousands were marching on streets across the world shouting “I cannot breathe!”; “No justice, no peace!”; “Black lives matter!”; and “Hands up, don’t shoot.” These are the cries of people exhausted and enraged by a global pandemic that has taken a deadly toll on people of color while videos capture African Americans being killed by law enforcement and former law enforcement officers. After the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, watching a police officer nonchalantly kneel on George Floyd’s neck for nine minutes proved too much to bear. Readers may wonder why a report about the death penalty begins with a discussion of police violence. Yet, there are strong links between the indelible images of a knee pressed against George Floyd’s neck, the bodies of lynching victims surrounded by jubilant crowds, and the proud onlookers at the last public execution. Exploring these connections is essential to any full discussion of race and the death penalty in the United States.

Washington, DC: Death Penalty Information Center, 2020. 88p.