USA - North Carolina. Report: NC death penalty too costly, unfair, and does not deter crime.

Report: NC death penalty too costly, unfair, and does not deter crime. The death penalty system in North Carolina costs millions of dollars a year and does not make our state safer, a new report from Appalachian State University Professor Matthew Robinson reveals. Robinson, Professor of Government and Justice Studies at Appalachian State University, analyzed years worth of data about the state's capital punishment system, from dozens of sources. His analysis showed that the death penalty is expensive, ineffective and biased - and that it poses a serious risk to innocent people. ''All the data point to one obvious conclusion,'' said Robinson, who released his findings at a press conference on April 18th in Raleigh. ''Our state's capital punishment system is broken, and our lawmakers should take a serious look at whether it is still serving the interests of North Carolina.'' Robinson was joined by 3 other scholars, Dr. Frank Baumgartner and Dr. Seth Kotch of UNC Chapel Hill and Dr. Miriam DeLone of Fayetteville State University, all of whom agreed that the death penalty is no longer an effective or fair punishment. Robinson said his analysis led to 5 key conclusions: 1. The death penalty is extremely rare in North Carolina. The number of death sentences has declined precipitously since 2000, and only about 3 people a year are sentenced to death. That means that fewer than 0.3 % of murders result in a death sentence. No one has been executed since 2006. 2. The death penalty does not deter crime. Since executions stopped in 2006, North Carolina's murder rate has declined. Numerous studies have shown that the death penalty does not affect crime rates, and no study has ever shown North Carolina's Capital punishment system to have any deterrent effects. 3. The death penalty costs North Carolina millions of dollars a year, far more than other punishments. The data shows that capital murder cases cost the state nearly four times as much as non-capital cases. Studies have found that, despite its infrequent use, the death penalty is costing North Carolina between $11 million and $20 million a year. 4. The death penalty is used unfairly. Nearly 80 % of death sentences imposed in North Carolina is in cases where the victim was white, even though only 43 % of the state's murder victims are white. Study after study has shown that those who kill whites are far more likely to be sentenced to death, especially minority men accused of killing white women. 5. Innocent people are being wrongly sentenced to death. 7 people have been exonerated and freed from North Carolina's death row since 1973, giving North Carolina the 7th highest error rate in the nation. 6 of the 7 exonerated men were minorities, and all 7 were sentenced to death for killing white victims. Statewide, 2 out of 3 death sentences are overturned on appeal.