What historical and statistical factors suggest racial discrimination in the administration of the death penalty in this country? What reform has been instituted at the federal level to try to combat racial discrimination in the imposition of the death penalty? Has it been effective?
What factors other than race might account for the disparity in the number of persons of color executed as compared with their representation in the population?
If it is true that the death penalty is administered discriminatorily across the board, does this make it unconstitutional, as the appellants argued in Kemp? Are attempts to administer it without bias doomed to failure, as Justice Blackmun suggested in 1994? Or, should defendants have to show that racial factors influenced the decision in their particular cases, as the Supreme Court's majority ruled in Kemp?
What remedies do you see possible to ensure the fair administration of the death penalty without racial bias?