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From: klotz@ihuxo.UUCP (Dave Klotzbach)
Newsgroups: net.misc
Subject: Death penalty statistics
Message-ID: <419@ihuxo.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 16-Jan-85 10:17:36 EST
Article-I.D.: ihuxo.419
Posted: Wed Jan 16 10:17:36 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 17-Jan-85 12:54:08 EST
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 39

The American Luthern Church is in the process of preparing a letter
on Capital Punishment. This may be a followup to the letter first 
published in 1972. Since I am in the group that is supposed to make
suggestions for our local Churches position, I would like to get the
most facts available.

It is generally accepted that there is no concrete Biblical position
either for or against the Death penalty, therefore the question being
persued is one of justice. In this vain we are looking at three factors:

1. Finacial cost to the community. Is it really more expediant to 
   put a man or womanto death then to keep that person in prison.

2. The possibility of error. How many executed persons have been later
   exhonerated. What is the possibility of such an error.

3. Racial aspects of the Death penalty. 54% of the persons sent to 
   Death Row during the last 50 years were Black. How does this 
   compare to the population of the US in that same period.

I find the the data on the cost to the comunity is so full of emotional
bias that I can not become involve in that discussion. Therefore I 
will concentrate by investigation on the later 2.

I have a copy of the 1980 US Department of Justice report on Capital
punishment, but there are some holes in the data. There is no record of
wrongful death nor is there any information on the prison populations
other than Death Row.

Additionally, the information on the number of Blacks on death row needs
to be balanced against the ratios in those states that have the Death
Penalty.

At this point I am only interested in facts, emotional outbreak either
pro or con serve no purpose in this discussion.

Thank in advance
Dave Klotzbach