In 1997, the Roman Catholic Church decided to amend the 1992 Universal Catechism to reflect the writings of Pope John Paul II in his 1995 encyclical, The Gospel of Life (Evangelium Vitae). Therein, the Pope finds that the only time executions can be justified is when they are required “to defend society” and that “as a result of steady improvements . . . in the penal system that such cases are very rare if not practically non existent

7 studies are reviewed, herein
For emphasis, population count is totally irrelevant, regarding any consideration of class or race/ethnicity bias in the application of the death penalty. The only relevant factors in such a review are class, race/ethnic distribution of murderers and their victims in capital murders, as well as criminal history, the specific circumstances of the crime(s) and a review of individual prosecutorial jurisdictions.
Study 1: Drs. Stephen Klein and John Rolph: “After accounting for some of the many factors that may influence penalty decisions, neither race of the defendant nor race of the victim appreciably improved prediction of who was sentenced to death . . . “. “Relationship of Offender and Victim Race to Death Penalty Sentences in California”, Jurimetrics Journal, 32, Fall 1991, aka The Rand Corporation Study)
Study 2: Smith College Professors Stanley Rothman and Stephen Powers found that legal variables, such as prior criminal history and the aggravated nature of the murder, are the proven basis for imposition of the death penalty. The black/white variation in sentencing has generally been reduced to zero when such legal variables are introduced as controls. “Execution by Quota?”, The Public Interest, Summer 1994

There are a number of inadequate issues raised in opposition to 16-17 year old murderers being culpable for the death penalty — Brain science and other arguments are either weak or false.

Death Penalty opponents have proclaimed that 102 inmates have been “released from death row with evidence of their innocence”, since the modern death penalty era began, post Furman v Georgia (1972). (The number of “innocents” may vary, periodically)

A thorough review finds that death penalty opponents have lied, extensively, regarding the numbers of innocents sentenced to death, that such risk is extraordinarily low and that the cessation of executions will put many more innocents at risk.

Some wrongly state that executions are a human rights violation. The human rights violation argument often comes from European leadership and human rights organizations.

This play/movie is presented as if six innocents were sent to death row because of corruption within the system.

In their story, “States With No Death Penalty Share Lower Homicide Rates”, The New York Times did their best to illustrate that the death penalty was not a deterrent, by showing that the average murder rate in death penalty states was higher than the average rate in non death penalty states and, it is. (1)

“The results are boldly clear: executions deter murders and murder rates increase substantially during moratoriums.”

Mr. Sharp has appeared on ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, NBC, NPR, PBS, BBC and many other TV and radio networks, on such programs as Nightline, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, The O’Reilly Factor, etc., has been quoted in newspapers throughout the world and is a published author.

Death penalty opponents say that the death penalty has a foundation in hatred and revenge. Such is a false claim.

In this brief format, the reality of the death penalty in the United States, is presented, with the hope that the media, public policy makers and others will make a more responsible effort to present a balanced view on this sanction.

In comparing the cost of death penalty cases to other sentences, the studies are woefully incomplete.