In California, studies indicated that while six percent of those convicted of killing whites got the death penalty, only three percent of those convicted of killing blacks got the death penalty. In 1986, studies in Georgia demonstrated that those convicted of killing whites were four times more likely to be sentenced to death than convicted killers of non-whites. African Americans are only about twelve percent of the United States' population. Of the 3,859 persons executed for a crime since 1930, fifty percent have been black. It could be argued that minorities do not commit more crime than whites, but, rather they are more often punished with the death penalty.
Sex discrimination is another factor that enters into determining the death sentence.
During the ten years from the 1980's to the 1990's, only about one percent of those on the death row were women while a disproportionate number, fifteen percent, of the criminal homicides were committed by women. Finally, socio-economic class discrimination influences judgments made about the death sentence. Statistics showed that ninety percent of those on the death row are too poor to hire a lawyer. This statement seems to be true today. Without capital, one can't be tried equally, since he can't afford private investigators, psychiatrists, and expert criminal lawyers to help with the trial.