Does the criminal justice materialize the ideology of second-class citizenship rather than limiting this menace at all cost? Hope Racine in the death penalty for black and white murderers reveals how capital punishment is part of the racial problem brings out this issue into the light. In this article, Racine attempts to explore death penalty among the black and white convicts. She argues that since the introduction of the sentence in 1976, it has treated the white and the blacks in two distinct ways (Moss, para 1). According to her perception, the law has led to the killing of more blacks than the white. There are nine times more Black Death convictions than the white deaths since its introduction in the United States. Racine begins by explaining the origin of the death conviction law as a representation of personal facts. She also cites convincing facts and statistics which appeals emotions. However, her extensive attempt to attract the readers' emotional weaken her credibility thus the whole argument.
Racine begins her article by first setting a stage that shows the beginning and the strides that have been made in death penalty conviction. In this article, she starts by comparing the actions of Dylan Roof who was charged with the murder of nine Blacks in a South Carolina church (Moss, para 1). This introduction is sufficient in showing the reader that the article is mainly used to compare the two races. Racine continues to explain how the discrepancy is not evident until one takes a closer look at the situation on the ground. At this point, she describes how the whites are charged with more cases, yet they are the least executed compared to the Blacks who form the largest percentage. Towards the end of the article, Racine gives some of the explanations for the discrepancy. She argues that the black community tend to consider forgiveness once they are witnesses against their white counterparts. However, they do not receive this same treatment from the white people.
Throughout the article, Racine uses strong sources to build her argument and strengthen her credibility. “A 2013 FBI report states that 7 percent of black homicide victims are killed by Caucasians, while 14 percent of white victims are killed by African Americans" (Moss, para 4). This and other cited sources shows that Racine has done her homework. She also adds other expert opinions and statistics to boost her facts.
With the many facts in the form of statistics and progression of ideas, Racine adds to her ethos and appealing of logos. She also points out different facts such as how the 1712 revolt by the slaves led to the introduction of the death conviction through capital punishment, “the first American-made capital punishment was put into effect directly after a slave revolt in 1712” (Moss, para 9).
However, the author does not give the two sides of the story. From the beginning of the story, she uses strong and emotional words to a form a sympathetic image towards the black community. Additionally, she applies the same strategy at the end of the article. Even though her main objective is to attract sympathy from the reader using this approach, she overuses it throughout the article hence promoting boredom and monotonicity. This strategy damages the credibility of the article.
References
Moss, Gabrielle. "What No One Tells You About Breaking Up With Your Mother." Bustle. N.p., 2015. Web. 24 Mar. 2018.
