USA - Delaware. New Study of Delaware Death Penalty Reveal Dramatic Racial Disparities

New Study of Delaware Death Penalty Reveal Dramatic Racial Disparities. Findings of a 5-year study of the operation of Delaware’s death penalty was released today. The study, “The Delaware Death Penalty: An Empirical Study”, was conducted by widely acclaimed criminal justice experts: Sheri Lynn Johnson, Cornell Law School; John H. Blume, Cornell Law School; Theodore Eisenberg, Cornell University - School of Law; Valerie P. Hans, Cornell University - School of Law; Martin T. Wells, Cornell University - School of Law. The study examined the state’s death penalty since 1972 and found dramatic racial disparities in death sentencing. Findings include: - Of 49 defendants sentenced to death in the state since 1972, 53% were black, 39% were white, and 8% were Hispanic or Native American. In contrast, 69% of Delaware’s population is white, 21% is black, and 8% are Hispanic. - 35 of the 49 cases (73%) involve a white victim. Of the current death row inmates, 59% were convicted of murdering whites and 41% were convicted of murdering black victims. - Of the current death row population in Delaware, 59% are black, 23% are white, and 18% are Hispanic. Combined, the minority population comprise 77% of death row. Nationally, the death row population is 43% white, 42% black, 12% Hispanic and 2% reported as “other.” The minority population only accounts for approximately 56% of the national death row population. - Even when compared to southern states, the Delaware rate of death sentencing for black defendants with white victims is extremely high; it is 75 % higher than the closest contenders (Georgia and Nevada), more than twice as high as that of South Carolina or Virginia, and more than 3 times as high as that of its near neighbors, Maryland and Pennsylvania.