Studies from Amnesty International have shown that the death penalty sentence is targeted more at specific racial and gender groups than at others. More African-American males than Caucasian males are sentenced to death, even if the crime is exactly the same. Also, the death penalty is skewed in the attempt to keep women off of death row. Amnesty International states that prosecutors tend to seek the death penalty more frequently when the victim is white than when the victim is of a different race or ethnicity.

The death penalty is also biased against those who are not able to afford their own attorney and are therefore appointed a state attorney that may not be as capable of winning a case as an expensive private attorney. Most state appointed attorneys are underpaid and overworked and are not capable of meeting all of the needs for their clients.

This also relates back to the issue of race. According to the United States Census, in 2007 the average income for African American families was $33,916 whereas the average income for white American families was $54,920. This income difference gives white Americans an advantage over African Americans in receiving better legal representation.

Through the lack of appropriate representation, some people are wrongfully accused of a crime and are sentenced to death. A study by Amnesty International shows that since 1973, over 130 people have been exonerated nationwide due to faulty evidence that leads to their wrongful conviction. Among those exonerated was York, Pennsylvania’s own Ray Krone, who spent 10 years in an Arizona prison for a murder that he did not commit.

Factors that have led to wrongful convictions mirror those that have caused the death penalty to be considered arbitrary: inadequate legal representation, racial prejudice, misinterpretation of mitigating evidence, and societal pressure.

Unfortunately, not all innocent people sentenced to death are lucky enough to be exonerated. Right now, in Georgia, Troy Davis sits on death row awaiting his fate. The Georgia appeals court has denied Davis’s appeal even though there is evidence to suggest that Davis may well be innocent. Many other innocent people have already been sentenced to death all across the United States, contributing to the over 1,000 executions since the reinstatement of lethal injection in 1973.

The death penalty must be abolished so innocent people do not die because of the faulty legal system

15 years ago, over 800,000 people were killed in 100 days in Rwanda. Darfur has already surpassed the number of killed Rwandans with 2.6 million people dead. Although this number is not as drastic because it has been accumulating for about a decade, it is just as outrageous because the number is still growing.

Of course, one main difference between the situations in Rwanda and Darfur is the fact that Rwanda is classified as a genocide, where as Darfur does not quite meet the genocide requirements; for it has not been proven that the government or the specific militia groups are targeting any specific group of people.

Africa Action is campaigning to increase the awareness to the crisis in Darfur (which they are considering genocide, but for all intents and purposes, I am following Amnesty International guidelines and considering it a crisis) and they are pressuring President Obama to step up and help to bring an end to the crisis.

President Obama already seems to be making progress on the situation in Darfur with Sudanese president al-Bashir recently admitting to the Obama Administration that he recognizes that there is a problem in Darfur and he is going to look into stopping the issue. But there are still many issues that are making this crisis worse and harder to end.

Aid workers are being kidnapped, Darfurians are still being displaced and mistreated in refugee camps, and the fighting is continuing.

As I am sure it has been made very clear, I agree with Africa Action that something needs to be done to end the crisis in Darfur. Everyone needs to join the action and figure out a way to get his/her voice heard! The crisis will only get worse if something is not quickly done to correct the problem.

If I may make a suggestion as to ways everyone can help, intently research the issue in Darfur, write a letter to President Obama using logic to explain why it is the duty of America to help those in Darfur who are suffering because of this crisis, and encourage friends and family to do the same. The more support shown by the people of America, the better the chances to end this unnecessary crisis.

Darfur is not a safe place. The Sudanese government, together with the Janjawid militia groups, has caused one of the greatest human rights crises of the modern day. Contrary to popular belief, the crisis in Darfur is not considered genocide because it does not meet all of the criteria to be considered such.

Recently, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was indicted for war-crimes against humanity that include murder, rape, and deportation. The list originally included acts of genocide, but this was later removed because the courts could not prove that these acts were targeted towards one specific group of people in Sudan or, more specifically, Darfur.

Many were hopeful that the indictment of President al-Bashir would help to bring an end to the suffering of the Darfurian people, but that seemed to have the opposite effect. After his indictment, President al-Bashir expelled 13 aid workers from Sudan with the allegation that they were secretly spying on him for the court that issued his arrest warrant. Now, the little aid that the Darfurian people were receiving has been halted and it is uncertain how this will affect the people of Darfur.

The United States has teamed up with UNAMID (United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur) to help develop, maintain, and transport peacekeeping operations in Darfur, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. According to Amnesty International:

• The USA has the political, military and financial capacity to play a larger role in supporting UNAMID. It should deploy its full complement of peacekeepers;
• The USA should pledge and deliver helicopters and other essential equipment to UNAMID to enable it to fulfill its protection mandate;
• The USA should use its influence to encourage other countries to provide UNAMID with the necessary air and ground transport equipment, as well as other essential human, material and financial resources.

For more information about the current issue in Darfur and to find out ways to get involved, check out Amnesty International’s website at amnestyusa.org.

It was not a morality issue that led New Mexico to decide to repeal the death penalty, but rather an economical decision. Cost was the reason for New Jersey’s abolition of the death penalty and it is also an issue that Maryland is studying as well. According to a federal study, a death penalty trial costs tax payers eight times more money than a non-death penalty trial.

Spending large amounts of money for something that has proved to be ineffective in preventing crime seems absurd. Ghandi said, “[A]n eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind,” but it is also putting a strain on everyone’s wallets.

Although most states are choosing to avoid moral issues for the reason for abolishing the death penalty, (since different peoples’ views tend to be more controversial than the issue of saving money) other issues should be taken into account. The amount of provably innocent people on death row and those who have been exonerated should be a clear indication that the death penalty, as well as the United States legal system, is a flawed system.

Troy Davis. Ray Krone. Sunny Jacobs. Gary Gauger. Juan Meléndez. Those are just a few names of those who have been mistakenly sent to death row. Three have been exonerated and one still sits on death row, when evidence is piling up to prove that he, in fact is innocent. I won’t even begin to mention the number of innocent people who have been killed because of the death penalty.

The death penalty is not solving our nation’s problems.

Later this year, as the executions continue, the United States will reach 1,000 executions since the reinstatement of lethal injections. The United States is the only democracy that still uses the death penalty. What kind of image does that give our country?

Troy Davis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooPHNsFqb8M

al-Bashir’s expulsion of aid groups is an abomination and will not help with the crisis; by keeping aid groups out of Darfur, the conflict is only going to continue. It seems as if he has a personal vendetta against these aid workers due to his recent indictment for war crimes. It has been reported that the reason for his expulsion of the aid groups is because he suspected the groups of spying on him for the court that warranted his arrest.

Darfur has been the center for a humanitarian crisis and conflict since 2002, when Darfurian rebels began attacking government facilities. Militia attacks began in 2003, and since then somewhere between 170,000 to 500,000 civilians have been killed and many more displaced.

Many refugees have fled their homes to take up residence in camps in Libya, Egypt, Chad, and other places; conditions in these camps are sub-standard and in many, life expectancy is not much more than one month.

Although President Obama is taking strides to help correct the problem in Darfur, he is also aware that bringing peace will take time. The Associated Press quotes President Obama as saying, “This is going to be a very difficult task. It will be a time-consuming task. We don’t expect any solutions overnight to the long-standing problems there.”

By recognizing that the problem exists, President Obama is already stepping in the right direction to help bring peace to a turbulent Darfur.

Information comes from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090330/ap_on_re_us/obama_darfur_2 and The Scramble for Africa: Darfur–Intervention and the USA by Steven Fake and Kevin Funk