But Le insists he's not a robber, much less a gang member. If a prosecutor proves that a defendant committed a crime as part of an organized group, that evidence can increase the penalty by a degree. But Hoang and other defense attorneys say that the mere suspicion of gang membership can lead to the conviction of innocent people. Amnesty International cannot find any evidence that current legal safeguards eliminate racial bias in the application of the death penalty. But that is not the main problem.
Police action based exclusively on the basis of race certainly is objectionable.
But it also is certainly of marginal significance. Virtually all police chiefs would condemn an officer who stopped someone solely on a racial basis. So would virtually all judges. In other words, a consensus that police should not stop or question people solely because of race already exists. The real problem, the difficult question, and the inquiry that sparks controversy, is whether police should be able to consider race at all.