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Justice by Lottery: Arbitrariness and the Death Penalty “Death sentences are cruel and unusual in the same way that being struck by lightning is cruel and unusual.” –Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart (1972) W hile the death penalty is supposedly used only for worst of the worst crimes and for those totally incorrigible in our society, there is a great dis- parity in sentences for similar crimes. Less than two percent of murders in Missouri result in a death sentence. In Missouri, each county prosecutor is the sole determiner of who gets charged, who stands trial, who gets to plea bargain, and what penalty will be sought. Statistics indicate the undue influence of race, class, gender, and the particular county in which one is prosecuted. These factors — and pure chance — all seem to determine who is considered for the death penalty much more than do the actual nature of the crimes. Consider these Missouri examples: Robert Berdella confessed to imprisoning, torturing, and murdering six persons. Eric Beishline killed three elderly persons. Neither received the death penalty. Bruce Kilgore and Willie Luckett, in separate trials, were convicted in the murder of Marilyn Wilkins. She had told an employer about Luckett stealing food from the restau- rant where they both worked, leading him to be fired. Credible evidence pointed to Luckett as the person who fatally stabbed the victim, yet Luckett received a life sentence; Kilgore, on the other hand, was executed in 1999. James Chambers was convicted of shooting and killing Jerry Oestricker, who had attacked him in a bar. Chambers was executed in 2000, and he may be the only person in the United States to receive a death sentence for what was basically a barroom brawl. Repeal the Death Penalty—an Arbitrary and Irreversible Punishment—as Proposed by HB 1520 and HB 1496. This flier is part of a series prepared by Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP). For more information contact MADP at 816-931-4177 or visit our website at www.madpmo.org .

Arbitrariness of the Death Penalty

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Justice by Lottery: Arbitrariness and the Death Penalty

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Justice by Lottery: Arbitrariness and the Death

Penalty

“Death sentences are cruel and unusual in the same way that being struck by lightning is cruel and unusual.”

–Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart (1972)

W hile the death penalty is supposedly used only for worst of the worst crimes and for those totally incorrigible in our society, there is a great dis-parity in sentences for similar crimes. Less than two percent of murders in Missouri result in a death sentence.

In Missouri, each county prosecutor is the sole determiner of who gets charged, who stands trial, who gets to plea bargain, and what penalty will be sought. Statistics indicate the undue influence of race, class, gender, and the particular county in which one is prosecuted. These factors — and pure chance — all seem to determine who is considered for the death penalty much more than do the actual nature of the crimes.

Consider these Missouri examples:

Robert Berdella confessed to imprisoning, torturing, and murdering six persons. Eric Beishline killed three elderly persons. Neither received the death penalty. Bruce Kilgore and Willie Luckett, in separate trials, were convicted in the murder of Marilyn Wilkins. She had told an employer about Luckett stealing food from the restau-rant where they both worked, leading him to be fired. Credible evidence pointed to Luckett as the person who fatally stabbed the victim, yet Luckett received a life sentence; Kilgore, on the other hand, was executed in 1999. James Chambers was convicted of shooting and killing Jerry Oestricker, who had attacked him in a bar. Chambers was executed in 2000, and he may be the only person in the United States to receive a death sentence for what was basically a barroom brawl. Repeal the Death Penalty—an Arbitrary and Irreversible Punishment—as Proposed by HB 1520 and HB 1496.

This flier is part of a series prepared by Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (MADP). For more information contact MADP at 816-931-4177 or visit our website at www.madpmo.org.