Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 12 July 2002 — Page 2

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, JULY 12,2002

Automobile crashes are a leading cause

DEATH PENALTY

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“Statistics tell us that judges are three times more likely to overturn a jury's recommendation of life than they are to overturn a jury 's recommendation of death ” Notes Steven W. Hawkins, executive director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, "Once again, politics—and the fact that the judge's job and career can be at stake — interferes with the process. Politics should have no role in determining who lives and whodies.’’ As of April I. there were 3,701 people on death row: 45.3 percent white. 43 percent Black. 9.3 percent Latino, 1.1 percent Native American, I. I percent Asian and I percent unknown, according to LDF. Of the 765 inmatesexecuted since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, only 13.78 percent were put to death for killing an African American. By contrast. 80 percent of those executed had killed a white person. As states reexamine their laws to make sure they are in compliance with the new Supreme Court rulings — the court also banned the executipn of mentally retarded inmates— the federal government, under the leadership of Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, ison the verge of killing

even more people. Since Ashcroft became attorney general, the Justice Department has been three times more likely to seek the death penalty for persons accused of killing whites than for Blacks charged with killing a person of color, according to the Federal Death Penalty Resource Counsel Project, which monitors capital punishment cases. Ashcroft has even overruled his own federal prosecutors 12 times, forcing them to seek the death penalty, including one case where the defendant had entered a guilty plea in exchange for a life sentence without chance of parole. According to one federal study, of the defendants selected for capital murder prosecution between 1988 and 1994, a stunning 89 percent of the defendants were either African American or Mexican American. Last year, the Justice Department issued a report that asserted that there was “noevidence of racial bias in the administration of the federal death penalty." The report did concede that there was a “slight statistical disparity" in plea bargain agreements that seemed to favor whites.

of death among

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African-Americans.

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www.in.gov/cji 866-499-4696

audience Apollo style. • “We just want people to have a good time. There are so few entertainment outlets that can truly serve the entire family," said Douglass. “This show is not only family-ori-ented. but a show that truly uplifts the soul." And it’s that kind of performance that makes the event a perfect fit for IBE’s Summer Celebration. “When they were here in 2000all of their shows sold out. People loved the show so much that our office was flooded with calls demanding that we bring them back," said IBE Communications Director Alpha Garrett.

As one of its Summer Celebration jewels, IBE organizers have arranged for a special children's and senior citizen's day at the circus to take place 10:30 a.m., Thursday at the State Fairgrounds. Discounted tickets are available at IBE offices. "1 know it’s going to be a good show. I’ll be there with all my grandchildren and we are going to have a good time," said Alice Jackson after she scratched off the area that reads “buy UniverSoul tickets” from her things-to-do-list. “Now, I’ve got to buy something to wear to that Al Green concert on Sunday."

BRIEFS ContlniMd from Al the Air Force, has died. Davis, who was 89 and suffered from Alzheimer's disease, died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. Davis, a native of Washington, began his military career during the era of segregation and led a unit of airmen that was credited with a major role in bringing about the postwar integration of the armed services. Davis and the airmen, officially known as the 332nd Fighter Group, escorted bombers on 200 air combat missions over Europe during World War 11 and were said to have never lost any of the planes which depended on them for support. NAACP says 6 states flunk HOUSTON (AP)—Several states have made little progress in fixing elections problems that left thousands of minority voters disenfranchised in the 2000presidential election, the N AACP said. In an election report released Monday, six states received failing grades, though someofliciais immediately disputed the findings. The states that received an F were Delaware, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee. Texas and Vermont. Florida, where the results of the 2000presidential race remained in dispute for more than a month, got a D. Indiana received a B+ grade. “We now are on the verge of midterm elections," NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said, and there is“across thiscountryacontinuingrefrain. ‘When will real election reform take place and when will local government state government federal government find a coordinated way to protect' people’s right to vote." The grades were based on a variety of factors including whether governors signed election reform bills that provide new voting machines and prioritized replacing older machines first; whether they supported restoring voting rights to ex-felons and if they increased money spent on voter registration and education by 10 percent. Thecivilrightsorganization is holding its annual meeting in Houston this week.

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