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4A EDITORIALS/The Charlotte Post November 7,1996 wk ciiariotte Downsizing and Published weekly by the Charlotte Post Publishing Co. 1531 Camden Road Charlotte, N.C. 28203 Gerald O. Johnson CEO/PUBLISHER Robert Johnson CO-PUBLISHER/ GENERAL MANAGER Herbert L. White EDITOR IN CHIEF Biased capital punishment targets blacks By Walter Farrell Ph.D. and James Johnson Ph.D. NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION By Angela Hobbs SPECIAL TO THE POST Over the last 20 years, federal and state law makers have institut ed, with widespread puhUc support, a series of get tough-on crime pohcies in an effort to stem the tide of lethal violence in the U.S., especially in the nation’s large urban centers. The reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 and the steady broadening, especially during the past 10 years, of the range of crimes subject to the capital punishment statutes are, in many ways, S3rmbolic of the government’s efforts to “control” America’s violent crime problem. Currently, 41 U.S. jurisdictions (39 states, the U.S. government, and the U.S. military) have capital punishment statutes. Within these jurisdictions, there are, at present, 3,061 inmates serving time on death row. And since 1976, when the death penalty was remstitut- ed, these jurisdictions have executed 330 death row inmates - with Texas having executed 106, nearly one-third of all those put to death under these laws. Research indicated that public support for capital punishment has been on the rise in the U.S. since the mid-1960s. In 1969, 51 percent of the population favored the death penalty in capital cases; by 1991, 78 percent were in favor of capital punishment statutes (71 percent were in favor of such statutes even if they were not a deterrent to crime). Among other evidence, the fact that several of the U.S. jurisdictions without capital punishment laws are present ly contemplating them, suggests that public support for the death penalty remains strong. There is, however, a fair amount of opposi tion to it on two grounds; Moral and disparate racial impact. A siz able and vocal minority exists who think that it is morally wrong to take another person’s Life, no matter how heinous a crime the indi vidual may have conunitted. Included in this group are members of an organization called Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation, which is comprised of individuals and families who have lost loved ones to lethal violence, but who reject ‘Sdolence as a response to violence.” But the strongest opposition appears to be based on the belief that the^ death penalty is not applied in a race neutral manner. Data on the racial compKisition of the death row population tend to support this viewjr,,,„ While blacks constitute 12.3 percent of the U.S. population, they make up 40.7 percent of the population on death row. In other words, there are 3.3 times as many blacks on death row as one would expect based on their percent distribution in the U.S. population as a whole. In North Carolina, for example, blacks make up 22 percent of the state’s population, but they constitute 48 percent of the state’s death row population. Thus, there are twice as many blacks on death row in North Carolina as one would expect given their percent distribution in the state’s population. Previous studies have documented that the gross over representa tion of blacks among the U.S. death row population reflects, in part, the widespread discrimination that occurs in various phases of crimi- nal'processing - from prosecutorial decisions, to jury dehberations, to sentencing decisions of judges. In part, the over-representation reflects the class bias that confronts most African American males who face the possibility of a capital murder conviction. According to the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center, “more than 90 percent of the men and women cmrently on death row were financially unable to hire an attorney to represent them at trial.” Research further indicates that, as a consequence of their lack of financial resources, most death row inmates are represented at trial by public defenders or court-appointed lawyers who are so over worked, so incompetent, or so convinced of their cHents’ guilt that they make countless mistakes. Commenting on the quality of representation that indigent clients receive in capital cases, Stephen Bright of the Atlanta-based Southern Prisoners’ Defense Committee states, “people are not sen tenced for committing the worst crimes; they’re sentenced for having the worst lawyers.” We contend that one of those missed opportunities to launch a strong defense on the behalf of many African-American males who are faced with the prospect of the death penalty, is the failure of their legal coimsel to develop and utilize a contextualized defense - one that focuses on both the broader societal and the local environmental contexts as well as the critical fife course events which have shaped the defendant’s behavior. It is imperative that the African American community promote the contextualized defense strategy if it is to prevent the excessive execu tions of black males from becoming the primary targets. WALTER FARRELL and JAMES JOHNSON are National Newspaper Publishers Association columnists. I wasn’t bom into a wealthy family - far from it. I didn’t have a great role model to pat tern my life afl*r, but somehow I was bom with a lot of common sense (along with some other gifts and talents) that helped me make it as far as I have today. I have a motto in life which is: Do imto others as you would have others do unto you - this I live and practice everyday. Unfortunately we live in a soci ety where respect is given only to the rich and mighty. Within this realm are the mde, proud, selfish, heartless, and discriminatory individuals. This I experienced in the real world within the walls of a local computer corporation located on Stuart Andrew Blvd. right here in the Queen City. I am 32 years old and have struggled tremendously to survive and raise my two young ho3rs ages 6 and 9, exerted much time, ener gy, and great determination to pull myself up by the bootstraps - only to be met with the horri fying reality of the “real American way”. I am angry. perplexed and terribly stressed as to why I’ve been met with the kind of opposition that has thrown me into a state of despair. In recognition to what the U.S. government expects to accomplish (abolishing welfare recipients) I have questions and opinions I wish to express to the government. Not only has this thing affected me, but will also affect thousands of others sure to follow and possi bly those that currently experi encing this same nightmare of trying to survive on a job that will use your talents and abili ties, discriminate against you, and then cut your throat as easy as breathing air. You see, I know....because I’ve been there, and guess what? I’m back again (talk about self-sufficiency). There are so many factors as to how we single parents are to sur vive out here and I speak specifically for those (like myself) with no solid support sjrstem or husband. Tm aware of the new laws that Congress is implementing that’s urging individuals off the welfare sys tem, but there are highly seri ous problems brewing here that America is not “seeing” which I’m a Hobbs prime exam ple. During the time that I was on public assistance I voluntarily entered the “JOBS pro gram” before named even they it such. I excelled, graduated high school, took college courses, and graduated from a local vocation al school with a grade point average of 4.0 and director’s award for leadership abilities, academic excellence, and good attendance. AH this afler having dropped out of school at the age of 14. I found employment and finally worked my way off wel fare. Feeling very proud of my accomplishments, I began to feel what was a false sense of securi ty. I worked very hard as administrative assistant for this corporation. I went beyond the call of duty- however, the longer I was employed there I began to see and here things that needed upper management attention, but the issues were totally ignored. Tve always been one to stand up for my rights and what I believe in. I voiced concerns to my super visor (who traveled 86 percent of the time) and also Human Resources who acknowledged the issues but never acted upon anything to resolve the issues. I finally felt as though I was trapped inside an ocean with sharks. I was the meat with no rescue in sight. They began to drop unauthorized projects on me, tried to put things on me that was untrue, stole my ideas, and finally forced me out of my position which was due to how they harassed me, took advan tage of me, dumped more work on me than what was autho rized, which led to great mental and emotional stress. This is what I call discrimination. Now I’m practically back where I started from. Somebody tell me what’s wrong with this picture? Where is the justice here? ANGELA HOBBS lives in Charlotte. The affirmative action debate By Jennifer Agwunobi NATIONAL NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION In a book about one of the most controversial debates in America today - affirmative action - influential Americans speak out on all sides of the issue and give a provocative look at affirmative action from its histoiy to present day politi cal implications on the 1996 presidential elections. The Affirmative Action Debate was edited by George E. Curry, edi tor-in-chief of Emerge maga zine, and is a collection of 29 auricles, most of which are pub lished for the first time. The anthology includes essays from proponents of affirmative action such as the late President Lyndon B. Johnson and President Clinton, as well as prominent individuals such as Harvard Professor Cornell West, NAACP Executive Director Kweisi Mfume, Elaine Jones, director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and oppo nents Linda Chavez, president of the Center for Equal Opportunity, and California Uov. Pete Wilson. Affirmative action has more potential to divide our nation or bring it together than any other program, writes Curry. He notes that the context for today is affirmative action debate was provided by a report from the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights that found, “Historically, discrimination against minorities and women was not only accepted, but was also govemmentally required. The doctrine of white suprema cy, used to support the institu tion of slavery, was so much part of American custom and policy that the Supreme Court of the United States in 1857 (in the Dred Scott decision) approv ingly concluded that both the North emd the South regarded slaves as being of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political rela tions; and so far inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.” Curry also noted that women too have suffered discrimination along with African Americans and other racial minorities. Recognizing affirmative action as more than a black-and white issue, this book includes the voices of women. Latinos, and Asian Americans who are also affected by it and often ignored. Although it is a relatively new term, the concept of "affirmative action” is not. According to Manning Marable, history pro fessor and director of Coliunbia University’s Institute for Research in African American Studies, the concept of affirma tive action was “a series of presi dential executive orders, civil rights laws, and governmental programs regarding the award ing of federal contracts and licenses, as well as the enforce ment of fair employment prac tices, with the goal of uprooting the practices of bigotry.” At the heart, Marable continues, was the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which stated that “all persons shall have the same right...to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, give evidence, and to the fidl and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of persons and property as is enjoyed by white citizens....” Other presidents to follow the 1866 Act through executive orders were Franklin D. Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard Nixon. JENNIFER AGWUNOBI is a syndicated columnist. Tenure debate beats up on America’s college campuses By Jon Sanders SPECIAL TO THE POST RALEIGH—Tenure. It’s a unique privilege of the professo riate. Originating in medieval times, tenure is mostly a 20th- century phenomenon in America, designed to protect academic freedom. Lately, however, critics have charged tenure also protects ineffective teachers. Many have suggested abolishing the entire system in favor of five- or ten- year contracts, which they con tend will stiU protect academic freedom while allowing the opportunity to weed out poor professors. As the tenure debate continues across the nation, it grows ever more vitri olic. Salvos are fired in state leg islatures, op-eds, books and aca demic publications. Nowhere has this debate been carried out more dramatically than in cash-strapped Minnesota. Early this year the University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents requested a review of the tenure poliiy and the imple mentation of a revised policy on the institution’s four campuses by this fall. The state legislature also jumped on the bandwagon. making an $8.6 million appro priation for the institution’s financially troubled Academic Health Center contingent upon revising the tenure code. In September the regents offered, among other changes, a provision to enable them to fire tenured professors whose pro grams were eliminated and who were imable to be retrained or reassigned and a provision to cut the base salaries of faculty members for reasons other than a financial emergency. The regents’ proposals were harshly opposed by faculty members. The feud grew so bitter that early this month Gov. Arne H. Carlson intervened, saying he would form a panel to resolve the dispute. The panel’s duties would be to hold mediating talks between faculty members and regents, seek outside opin ions on the problem and report its sugested solutions by next March. Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, president of George Washington University, in a letter published in the June 21 Chronicle of Higher Educatian, said the fra cas in Minnesota owes to a change in public perception that is inconceivable to the tenured. Apart from Minnesota, several other states are wrestling with tenure: • Texas: In June the state Senate Education Committee approved a recommendation to allow public universities to fire tenured faculty members if they receive “below standard” marks from their students and peers for two consecutive years. • Florida: Working with United Faculty of Florida, the Florida Board of Regents approved a plan that requires tenured faculty to undergo per formance evaluations at least once every seven years. • Colorado: Metropolitan State College of Denver has asked the legislature to change state poliy to allow it to create new employment contracts for faculty members. As the tenure debate rages, those interested in reforming higher education will watch with interest. Will tenure become a relic of the past, or will it remain a part of the acad emic tradition? JON SANDERS is a research fellow at the Pope Center for Higher Education Reform.
The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Nov. 7, 1996, edition 1
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