as this were repeated against black people approximately 3,442 times between 1882 and 1950. During this time, blacks made up only 10% of the national population and 38% of the South's population. Of these lynchings, 73% were black people. The statistics of the lynchings of white people greatly differ from those of blacks. Of the 1,294 white lynchings in America, only 48% occurred in the South (275). Although these executions are informal, they are still recorded as capital punishment. The statistics of the South's lynchings of white and black people vary because of the racist beliefs in the South. These statistics grossly underestimate real figures because bodies and evidence of the victims were rarely found. The United States has the highest civilian murder rate in the industrialized world. Most of these murders occur in the South; therefore, most executions of criminals occur in the South (275). Just as American society sometimes acts rash and inhumane, America's judicial system has many flaws as well. People are wrongfully accused of crimes they did not commit. Sometimes these people are convicted of the crimes. Since 1973, 78 people have been released from death row after their innocence was discovered (Gross 9). Some of these people were released within a few hours before their scheduled execution. A man should not be punished for a crime he did not commit. Orlando Cruz, a Hispanic man, spent 10 years on death row for the rape and murder of a ten-year-old girl. Cruz was convicted despite the fact that a repeat sex offender and murderer had already confessed to the crime. Cruz was freed only after a police officer admitted to lying under oath about crucial evidence in the case ("The Cruel and Ever More Unusual Punishment" 95). Studies have shown that blacks are more likely than whites to receive the death penalty in similar cases. Blacks who harm whites are even more susceptible to receiving capital punishment. Clarence Brandley was...
