Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul M
No you dont.
That would be assuming that all crime is equally spread across all races, there is no proof of that (unless you have some somewhere).
|
True but that's why you then try to compare it those convicted of murder. Then, if possible, you get more in-depth to try and make sure the crimes at the same. This kind of thing is what Hugh posted to earlier.
It's all more useful than comparing direct numbers without any context or relevance. As I said it's about as useful as saying London is more dangerous than Glasgow as more crimes are committed there, without trying to adjust for the size of the city..
---------- Post added at 19:35 ---------- Previous post was at 19:30 ----------
I just went though the thread to see where it started and Chris already posted a better way to explain it:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
The distinction is important because the different racial groups aren’t of equal size in the general population. If the %age of executions of males of each racial group are broadly in line with that group’s representation in the population then fine, but if one group is over-represented, that may indicate an imbalance in the system.
According to those stats, just over a third (35%) of males executed last year were black. Yet the Afro-Caribbean population of the USA is 12.5%. That tends to suggest that black men are seriously over-represented on death row. Meanwhile the white population is around 72% but the white population of death row is 56%, which is a significant under-representation.
It might be that black men commit more serious crime. There could be sociological reasons for that, due to long term inequality and deprivation meaning a disproportionately high number of young black men are exposed to the environment that is likely to push them towards criminality. Or it might be that the criminal justice system is biased in some way. Juries may be more likely to convict, courts may be more likely to pass the death sentence. Whatever the reason, there’s clearly a problem.
|