Explain the prosecutorial death discretion outcome.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The prosecutorial death discretion outcome basically observes that prosecutors are overwhelmingly Caucasian and when they are determining whether to seek the death penalty, they tend to do so disproportionately more often when the victim is also Caucasian than when the victim is African American. The reasons for this, however, are more likely to be due to politics than racism. Most district attorneys (prosecutors) achieve their positions by public election. This means that they are voted into office, and as such, their communities must generally be happy with their performance. In many cases, it is the affluent within a community who tend to have more political power in that community, and they also tend to vote more. Prosecutors may be tempted to ensure that the affluent members of their community remain satisfied with decisions that are made, or at the very least, they may try to ensure that they do not upset this strata of citizens too greatly. In addition, when members of this group are close to someone who is killed, their families tend to have more influence and likely will more effectively ensure that their case is prosecuted with vigor to the maximum extent of the law. On the other hand, minority communities (particularly African American communities) tend to have fewer resources and less political clout. This does not mean that crimes against members of this community will not be prosecuted, but it does mean that there will be a stronger likelihood for plea bargains and life sentences without parole to be given. This is even truer when one considers that most crimes are intraracial, with African American offenders tending to kill African American victims. In addition, the voting potential of minority communities tends to be lessened due to lower numbers in most jurisdictions and other factors. In inner-city jurisdictions that are largely African American, crime rates may be higher, including violent crime. Given this observation, the fact that most crime is intraracial, and that drugs and gangs may be associated with these areas of the United States, the desire for a long and drawn-out legal prosecution may not be as strong, particularly if the crime involves offender-on-offender violence, such as with rival gang members or drug dealers.