What do you think?
Rate this book
Legal Lynching: The Death Penalty and America's Future
The death penalty is one of the most hotly contested issues in America today. Evidence continues to mount that many innocent people have been executed or are currently living on death row, and that minority groups and the poor suffer from a shoddy public defense system and discriminatory application of capital charges. Meanwhile, the myth of deterrence has been revealed to be false, and an increasing number of Americans are beginning to question their support for capital punishment.
Legal Lynching offers a succinct, accessible introduction to the debate over the death penalty's history and future, exposing a chilling frequency of legal error, systemic racial and economic discrimination, and pervasive government misconduct. This is an essential book for readers across the political spectrum who wish to cut through the common myths and assumptions about the efficacy and morality of state-sanctioned killing.
Legal Lynching offers a succinct, accessible introduction to the debate over the death penalty's history and future, exposing a chilling frequency of legal error, systemic racial and economic discrimination, and pervasive government misconduct. This is an essential book for readers across the political spectrum who wish to cut through the common myths and assumptions about the efficacy and morality of state-sanctioned killing.
- GenresNonfiction
205 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1996
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 20, 2024
A PASSIONATE AND WELL-ARGUED ARGUMENT AGAINST CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Activist and minister Jesse Jackson wrote in the first chapter of this 1996 book, “We have always had two systems of justice in America, one for the wealthy and one for the poor. We have also had a double standard for the criminal justice system, one for whites and one for people of color. The gravest injustices occur when a poor man or woman is wrongfully charged with a capital offense and sentenced to death. Wrongful convictions can be overturned, but wrongful executions can never be undone. Judges and juries are human---they make mistakes, and innocent people can be killed.
“Only God can create life, and so man has no right to take life. I believe that the commandment ‘Thou shall not kill’ applies to judges and juries as well as to everyone else… Statistics show that the death penalty does not deter crime. Revenge, then, becomes the reason for capital punishment. When the government executes a prisoner, all of us have blood on our hands, and death hangs heavily on our minds. How can we teach our children that killing and revenge are evils, and then have our elected representatives kill and seek revenge?” (Pg. 15-16)
He notes, “Violence begets violence, and by endorsing the death penalty we as a nation are perpetuating the cycle of violence. We are telling our citizens that murder can be justified, because the government does it. But the government should be striving to break the cycle of violence, not to perpetuate it.” (Pg. 21)
He explains, “In 1980, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ruled the death penalty unconstitutional…. The court referred to this bone-chilling data: In Florida, 48 percent of the blacks convicted of killing a white person were sentenced to death, while none of the 111 whites who were convicted of killing a black person were sentenced to die. Similarly in Georgia, 37 percent of the African Americans convicted of killing a white person were given death sentences, whereas less then 3 percent … of whites convicted of killing blacks were given the same treatment. Texas painted the same distorted, racist picture: while 27 blacks were sentenced to die for killing whites, of 141 whites who were found to have killed African Americans, none was given the death sentence. The Massachusetts court concluded that the death penalty was primarily reserved for those who kill whites and so ruled the death penalty unconstitutional. The people of Massachusetts have kept this prohibition in force.” (Pg. 89-90)
Later, he adds, “when a care involves interracial murder, the bias against black homicide defendants multiplies the effects of the bias against the murderers of white victims. Since 1976, only four white defendants have been executed for killing a black person, yet 75 black defendants have been executed for murdering a white person. Astoundingly, African Americans who murder whites are 19 times more likely to be executed as whites who kill blacks.” (Pg. 103)
He clarifies, “My goa is not to question whether killing a loved one or a stranger is the more heinous crime. Taking any life is a terrible matter. Nor do I wish to suggest that more women should be executed for the murders they commit. Rather, my purpose is to point out that women who kill are held to different standards than are men who kill.” (Pg. 108)
He states, “In over 50 years of Gallup polling, the African American community has opposed the death penalty in far greater numbers than has the white community. Traditionally, the difference in opinion has been explained by blacks’ greater awareness of and sensitivity toward the racial discrimination inherent in the death penalty process. Robert Young… theorized that because blacks are more often the victims of crime and are also more often brought before the criminal justice system as defendants, they are more likely to be attuned to whether the system is administering justice in an evenhanded way. For African Americans the decision to support or not support the death penalty turns on whether they believe the system treats all its defendants fairly and equally.” (Pg. 194-195)
He suggests, “working to eliminate the death penalty through the Supreme Court and the Eighth Amendment may no longer be the most effective strategy. Our focus should shift to toughening sentencing alternatives … Maybe when the public, our nation’s grand jury pool, again has confidence in non-capital sentencing and the alternative to the death penalty are stringent and widely known, the death penalty will fall into disuse as juries opt for tough life imprisonment sentencing.” (Pg. 203-204)
This book will be of great interest to those studying Capital Punishment.
Activist and minister Jesse Jackson wrote in the first chapter of this 1996 book, “We have always had two systems of justice in America, one for the wealthy and one for the poor. We have also had a double standard for the criminal justice system, one for whites and one for people of color. The gravest injustices occur when a poor man or woman is wrongfully charged with a capital offense and sentenced to death. Wrongful convictions can be overturned, but wrongful executions can never be undone. Judges and juries are human---they make mistakes, and innocent people can be killed.
“Only God can create life, and so man has no right to take life. I believe that the commandment ‘Thou shall not kill’ applies to judges and juries as well as to everyone else… Statistics show that the death penalty does not deter crime. Revenge, then, becomes the reason for capital punishment. When the government executes a prisoner, all of us have blood on our hands, and death hangs heavily on our minds. How can we teach our children that killing and revenge are evils, and then have our elected representatives kill and seek revenge?” (Pg. 15-16)
He notes, “Violence begets violence, and by endorsing the death penalty we as a nation are perpetuating the cycle of violence. We are telling our citizens that murder can be justified, because the government does it. But the government should be striving to break the cycle of violence, not to perpetuate it.” (Pg. 21)
He explains, “In 1980, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts ruled the death penalty unconstitutional…. The court referred to this bone-chilling data: In Florida, 48 percent of the blacks convicted of killing a white person were sentenced to death, while none of the 111 whites who were convicted of killing a black person were sentenced to die. Similarly in Georgia, 37 percent of the African Americans convicted of killing a white person were given death sentences, whereas less then 3 percent … of whites convicted of killing blacks were given the same treatment. Texas painted the same distorted, racist picture: while 27 blacks were sentenced to die for killing whites, of 141 whites who were found to have killed African Americans, none was given the death sentence. The Massachusetts court concluded that the death penalty was primarily reserved for those who kill whites and so ruled the death penalty unconstitutional. The people of Massachusetts have kept this prohibition in force.” (Pg. 89-90)
Later, he adds, “when a care involves interracial murder, the bias against black homicide defendants multiplies the effects of the bias against the murderers of white victims. Since 1976, only four white defendants have been executed for killing a black person, yet 75 black defendants have been executed for murdering a white person. Astoundingly, African Americans who murder whites are 19 times more likely to be executed as whites who kill blacks.” (Pg. 103)
He clarifies, “My goa is not to question whether killing a loved one or a stranger is the more heinous crime. Taking any life is a terrible matter. Nor do I wish to suggest that more women should be executed for the murders they commit. Rather, my purpose is to point out that women who kill are held to different standards than are men who kill.” (Pg. 108)
He states, “In over 50 years of Gallup polling, the African American community has opposed the death penalty in far greater numbers than has the white community. Traditionally, the difference in opinion has been explained by blacks’ greater awareness of and sensitivity toward the racial discrimination inherent in the death penalty process. Robert Young… theorized that because blacks are more often the victims of crime and are also more often brought before the criminal justice system as defendants, they are more likely to be attuned to whether the system is administering justice in an evenhanded way. For African Americans the decision to support or not support the death penalty turns on whether they believe the system treats all its defendants fairly and equally.” (Pg. 194-195)
He suggests, “working to eliminate the death penalty through the Supreme Court and the Eighth Amendment may no longer be the most effective strategy. Our focus should shift to toughening sentencing alternatives … Maybe when the public, our nation’s grand jury pool, again has confidence in non-capital sentencing and the alternative to the death penalty are stringent and widely known, the death penalty will fall into disuse as juries opt for tough life imprisonment sentencing.” (Pg. 203-204)
This book will be of great interest to those studying Capital Punishment.
February 20, 2020
Great brief review of the history of capital punishment in america, as well as a brief overview of specific cases and relevant statistics.
November 24, 2009
I checked out this book after I started watching the show, Prison Break, which starts with someone being falsely accused and convicted to death row. So far I like this book because Jesse Jackson brings in the Biblical perspective as well as explaining the moral stance more and more Americans are taking against the death penalty.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews