Results for: Racial Disparities

The Supreme Court is set to rule on whether cities can criminalize homelessness by outlawing camping and sleeping in public. The case, City of Grants Pass, Ore. v. Gloria Johnson, could potentially erode protections against cruel and unusual punishment. Experts say the case is one of the most important related to homelessness in modern history. Data shows that homelessness has been on the rise since 2017, with Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders experiencing the highest rates. Racial disparities in homelessness are stark, with Black people experiencing rates that are more than four times higher than white people. Despite overwhelming public support for providing housing as a basic human right, there is also significant support for measures that deter people from sleeping in public spaces. The outcome of the Supreme Court case will have profound implications for the lives of tens of thousands of unhoused people across the country.

Researchers have found that race significantly increases the odds of a botched execution in the U.S., with Black people having 220 percent higher chances of experiencing one than white people. The study, conducted by Reprieve, a legal action nonprofit, analyzed all recorded conducted and attempted lethal injection procedures in the last half century. The findings, published in a report released Thursday, focus on 73 botched executions out of 1,407 total executions between 1977 and 2023. The report calls for a moratorium on all lethal injection procedures and recommends that witnesses be allowed to witness executions and for the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the drugs used to kill people.

A new study has revealed that racial biases persist in the execution chamber, with Black people having a significantly higher chance of experiencing a botched execution than white people. The study analyzed 73 botched executions out of 1,407 total executions between 1977 and 2023 and found that about 8 percent of executions of Black people compared to 4 percent of white people were botched during that time frame. The report also found that states like Arkansas, Georgia, and Oklahoma had the highest “observable” racial disparities when administering lethal injections.