Date: 1992-08-11
Speaker: CARL RAUSCHER (democrat)
Chamber: S

c/o The Daly i Report. Atlanta. GA. DEAB MR. RAUSOHER: I have read Brent Newtons opinion piece opposing the nomination of Ed Carnes. Because part of my duties at the Alabama Attorney Generals Office involve statistics relating to capital punishment. I would like to respond to that part of Mr. Newtons piece in which he distorts the facts concerning race and capital punishment in Alabama. Mr. Newtons conclusions are based upon false premises. He says that "during Mr. Caines tenure almost half of the executions were for blackonwhite murders." In fact. only onethird of them have been. Thirtythree percent is not "almost half." Mr. Newton also says that "well over half of Alabamas death row is black." According to the latest figures circulated by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Alabamas death row contains 55 blacks. 58 whites. and I hispanic. Death Row U.S.A. (Winter 1991). It is simply false to state. as Mr. Newton does. that "well over half" of Alabamas death row is black. Blacks account for sixtysix percent of the homicide arrests In Alabama. and sixtyfour percent of the prison population. Thus. the percentage of blacks under sentence of death is lew than the percentage of homicide arrests and of the prison population. Mr. Newtons comparison of the percentage of executions involving blackonwhite murders to the percentage of blackonwhite killings annually (Mr. Newtons "four percent of all murders" figure) is very misleadtog. Mr. Newtons "all murders" figure is drawn from homicide statistics that do not distinguish capital murders for noncapital murders or even from cases of manslaughter. Of course. capital punishment is not available in noncapital murder and manslaughter cases. In any event. we know from the statistical studies in the famous McClesky case that. "whitevictim cases tend to be more aggravated while blackvictim cases tend to be more mitigated." McClesky v. Zant. 580 F.Supp. 338. 363 (N.D. Ga. 1984). affd. 753 F.2d 877 (11th Cir. 196) (en bane). affd. 481 U.S. 279 (187. Thus. If capital punishment is based upon aggravating and mitigating factors. as it should be. one would expect more death sentences in white victim cases. The one statistical study that has been done on Alabama capital cases. completed in the early 19Ws. found that 53 percent of the capital defendants tried for killing a white were sentenced to death while 68 percent of the capital defendants tried for killing a black received death sentences. That finding certainly does not indicate raceofvictim prejudice against blacks. (In fairness. it should be noted that the study did not consider aggravating and mitigating circumstances.) Specific cases that have gone to execution in Alabama also evidence an absence of raclal discrimination. For example. one case has gone to execution in which the defendant was under two separate death sentences--one received in a white victim case and one received in a black victim case. That defendant was executed for the black victim murder. not for the white victim murder. Likewise. the one execution to be carried out involving a crime with black and white codefendants also disproves Mr. Newtons thesis. A white man hired two black hit men to murder his wife. The white codefendant was executed. while the two black hit men received prison sentences. It is disingenuous of Mr. Newton to suggest that because Mr. Carnes argued against the socalled Racial Justice Act. he is not opposed to racial discrimination. That legislation has nothing to do with racial justice and everything to do with the do facto abolition of capital punishment. That is why Congres has consistently refused to enact It. Mr. Caies supported the Equal Justice Act which would have prohibited any racial discrimination by the prosecution and the defense. A majority of the House of Representatives voted to substitute the Equal Justice Act for the socalled Racial Justice Act. A majority of the Senate also rejected the RJA. I wanted to set the record straight and correct Mr. Newtons erroneous statements and conclusions. Sincerely.