Understanding Capital Punishment Through the Lens of Racial Threat Theory

• In Event: Applying Critical Race and Racial Threat Theory to Criminal Legal System Topics

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to analyze past and present use of capital punishment in the United States through the lens of racial threat theory and provide potential recommendations that may ameliorate generational harms this punishment has inflicted. This will be done by comparing explanations of capital punishment provided by critical race and racial threat theories. Critical race theory acknowledges that the governing institutions of this nation are based on racist ideologies and depicts a painfully accurate history of the United States. Racial threat theory posits that as minority racial groups in a civilization grow, the dominant race feels threatened and works to contain these minority groups. These theories provide a unique understanding of capital punishment contextualized by race relations throughout history. Both theories work in tandem to explain how racism has been institutionalized and quietly maintained in the United States. Just as African Americans have been disproportionately represented in American jails and prisons, overt racial discrimination on death row has been acknowledged and ignored for decades. Examining the history and present use of the death penalty through the lens of racial threat theory, this paper will outline the ways in which race impacts who is sentenced to death.

Author

• Nathaniel Galen, John Jay College of Criminal Justice / CUNY Graduate Center