Race and the Jury: Racial Influences on Jury Decision-Making in Death Penalty Cases

This note identifies the overwhelming influence of how the race of the victim and the defendant affects prosecutors and juries in capital punishment cases. The author focuses on the legislative and judicial shortcomings that have lead to a failure in proscribing and combating the issue of purposeful discrimination against minority defendants. The author proffers different remedies to address this problem, citing ideas mentioned in several state court cases as well as various federal legislative attempts to protect against racial discrimination in the application of capital punishment.