The death penalty is a modern horror.
“We simply cannot say we live in a country that offers equal justice to all Americans when racial disparities plague the system by which our society imposes the ultimate punishment.” - Senator Russ Fe
The death penalty is a macabre relic of the past that has been disproportionately used to execute black and brown men. It should be abolished. - Amber & Katie
Source: The Death Penalty in Black and White: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides | DPIC
Not only is the death penalty a barbaric, expensive, and ineffective punishment that does nothing to reduce violent crime, it brings into stark relief the disparities and inequities in the U.S. justice sytem. Every year, it is statistically likely that we execute innocent people and that those people are disproportionately black and brown.
There are currently more than 2,600 people sitting on death row in the U.S. It is estimated that of those, some 4% of these sentenced to death--104 people--are innocent. Since 1976, 166 people on death row have been exonerated. To put that in perspective, for every 9 people on death row executed in the last 43 years, 1 has been exonerated.
In a study of DNA exonerations, the leading factors contributing to wrongful convictions include eyewitness misidentification, bad forensics, false confessions, false accusations, poor legal defense, and police and prosecutorial misconduct. Systemic racism is also a major contributing factor, to the point that being black is considered an aggravating factor in being convicted of a capital crime. Despite being only 13% of the U.S. population, 47% of those on death row are black. (Unsurprisingly, 54% of those exonerated by DNA evidence have also been black.) What’s more, the vast majority of crimes given the death penalty have white victims. Crimes with black and brown victims are far less frequently deemed capital crimes.
The death penalty is not just or justice and should be abolished in all 50 states.
The Innocence Project has been working for 27 years to exonerate those wrongly convicted and reform the U.S. criminal justice system. They are currently working to exonerate Rodney Reed, who is scheduled to be executed on November 20 in the state of Texas. Reed is convicted of the rape and murder of Stacey Stites. For years, Reed has maintained his innocence, stating that he and Stites were in consensual relationship and has alleged that her fiancé, then-cop Jimmy Fennell, is the actual murderer.
In the years since Reed’s 1998 conviction:
Three witnesses have come forward with information incriminating against fiancé Fennell.
One of Fennell’s friends, another cop, has come forward to state Fennell changed his story about where he was when Stites was murdered during the investigation.
Forensic experts have stated that evidence about the time of death, which was used to condemn Reed during the trial, was inaccurate.
Fennell was convicted of kidnapping and raping someone in his custody later, in 2007, and spent 10 years in prison.
The state of Texas has refused to test DNA evidence, including testing the murder weapon, which may exonerate Reed.
Reed is a black man accused of raping and murdering a white woman--a trope that has led to the judicial and extrajudicial killings of black men for centuries in this country--and he was convicted by an all-white jury. Reed has been kept on death row largely due to the fact that the state refuses to consider new evidence or conduct DNA testing. And this has all unfolded in the state of Texas, which has the abhorrent distinction of leading the U.S. in executions.
Reed’s family and the Innocence Project have been fighting hard to get him off of death row. With less than a month to go, you can lend your support by signing the petition to free Reed and donating to the Innocence Project, who work to reduce wrongful convictions and enact criminal justice reform. Support Reed and his family by following and amplifying @FreeRodneyReed and @BringRodneyHome on Twitter.
You can also call Texas governor Greg Abbott and demand a stay of execution for Rodney Reed.
Donate to the Innocence Project, and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Check out the Innocence Project’s 2019 Film, TV and Podcast Guide and Wrongful Conviction Reading Guide.
Look up legislative activity fighting the death penalty in your state and contact your state legislators to request they support it.
Host an Innocence Project House Party to raise awareness about wrongful convictions and criminal justice reform.
Invite an exoneree to speak at your corporate, educational, civic, or church group.
Donate to the Death Penalty Information Center, which produces analysis and reports on the death penalty in the U.S. to shed light on the inequities in our criminal justice system, and listen to the DPIC Podcast.
Donate to the Equal Justice Initiative, which provides legal aid to the wrongfully convicted, fights the death penalty and for broad criminal justice reform, and provides re-entry assistance for those getting out of prison.
The Marshall Project is a non-profit news organization shedding light on problems within the U.S. criminal justice. Read their stories about the death penalty in the U.S. and donate to enable more in-depth reporting.
Find us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Let us know how you’ve taken action using #LinkedAndLoud.
References
Costs | Death Penalty Information Center
A Clear Scientific Consensus That The Death Penalty Does Not Deter | Amnesty International
Death Penalty Fast Facts | CNN
Us Death Row Study: 4% Of Defendants Sentenced To Die Are Innocent | The Guardian
Innocence | Equal Justice Initiative
Causes Of Wrongful Convictions | New England Innocence Project
Death Penalty And Race | Amnesty International
The Death Penalty in Black and White: Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides | DPIC
Death Penalty | Equal Justice Initiative
Wrongful Convictions and DNA Exonerations: Understanding the Role of Forensic Science | National Institute of Justice
Stacey Stites’ Fiancé Released From Prison After Serving 10-year Sentence | KXAN
10 Facts You Need To Know About Rodney Reed, Who Is Scheduled For Execution On November 20 | Innocence Project
New Witnesses Come Forward In Defense Of Death Row Inmate Rodney Reed | CBS News
Witnesses Come Forward, Claim Rodney Reed Is Innocent | Spectrum Local News
Rodney Reed Case: New Witness Reportedly Says Fiance Knew Stacy Stites Was Having Affair | KVUE
Rodney Reed's Lawyers Request Withdrawal Of November Execution Date | Austin Chronicle
Death Watch: As Execution Pace Quickens, A 30-day Stay For Barbee | Austin Chronicle
How States Are Slowly Getting Rid Of The Death Penalty | PBS
Texas Death Penalty Facts | TCADP
Linked & Loud illuminates complex problems and connects readers with the individuals and organizations working to solve them. Each week, we go beyond horrifying headlines to empower readers to take progressive action.