Not so much:
The same team of researchers behind a recent study finding that older jurors convict at higher rates than their peers used a similar methodology to look at the more contentious issue of race.I've always wondered how a black person with an all white jury is getting tried by a jury of his peers. I think it is fascinating that having at least one black juror swings the conviction rate so much. Any time I hear some white person claim that there isn't any racism in the country, or that the real racists are black, I ask them if they'd rather be black, because I know I sure wouldn't want to take that deal.
Again, they looked at felony trials in Florida, from 2000 to 2010. And again they concentrated on the fluctuation in the composition of the jury pool, from day to day, rather than that of the seated jury (the former being more random than the latter, and therefore permitting the researchers to see more clearly the variables at work). They find evidence, they write, that
(i) juries formed from all-white jury pools convict black defendants significantly (16 percentage points) more often than white defendants, and (ii) this gap in conviction rates is entirely eliminated when the jury pool includes at least one black member. The impact of jury race is much greater than what a simple correlation of the race of the seated jury and conviction rates would suggest. These findings imply that the application of justice is highly uneven and raise obvious concerns about the fairness of trials in jurisdictions with a small proportion of blacks in the jury pool.
No surprise really. Look at the disproportionate voting for Obama and it makes perfect sense. If whites voted purely on race like blacks do McCain would be President. So who is really racially biased? Would a jury of black peers mean they would convict like they vote? I would like to see a statistic on all white jury convictions on white people versus all black jury convictions on black people. It would be an interesting statistic to see what race convicts higher.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, it is hard to argue against the widely available crime statistics. Black crime is so overwhelming versus white crime as a percent of the population its astonishing. I had a feeling it would be higher but I could not believe the racial gap between black and white. Figures like 37 and 50 times the rate. Wow. Here’s a youtube video that is worth watching. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5JbAO5_NMw
Jury selection is in many ways as important as a lot of the evidence in a trial. It would be interesting to see the breakdown of these felony trials and the charges involved. You might see another correlation that completely upends the first conclusions.
I'd like to see how many all black juries get seated. I'd wager the all-white juries get seated about, I don't know, 37 to 50 times as often.
ReplyDeleteBlacks must not be racist by your logic, because they voted for John Kerry at almost the same rate as they voted for Obama. You may not have a racist bone in your body, but I know a hell of a lot of white people who have several. I wouldn't seat them on a jury in the trial of a black person.
I have to believe its tough seating an all white jury in say, Gary Indiana for example. Oh, and next time your in that area park your tractor and walk a few blocks. Let me know how that goes. Guessing you may change your tune!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I'd manage. I don't need to go into a situation with a bad attitude.
ReplyDeleteYou, on the other hand, seem to have some issues with people who don't look like you. Don't hate people because they aren't ugly.