I cannot demand the life of another's child. A study of homicide rates in Oklahoma in the year prior and the year following their first execution revealed no deterrent effect. In fact, following the 1990 execution, it was show that there was an increase of about one per month in stranger homicides. In the last 20 years, no US criminologist has published data that supports the concept of deterrence. New cases continue to be uncovered each year, as the problem of sending innocent people to death row continues.
Racial bias does play a role in some cases.
Nationally, the majority of capital cases involve white victims.