For years, even decades, sociologists and criminologists have produced studies that consistently note that racial differences exist when it comes to how death penalty sentences are carried out. As Newsweek magazine now confirms, as a new sociological study documents, the consensus is clear -- in capital punishment cases, Blacks are disproportionately discriminated against, both as perpetrators and as victims:

Blacks on death row convicted of killing whites are more likely to be executed than whites who kill minorities. It also concludes that Blacks who kill other minorities are less likely to be executed than blacks who kill whites. The authors of the report say their findings raise serious doubts about claims that the U.S. criminal justice system is colorblind. . . .

[The study’s authors speculate that] prosecutors often win higher office if they win well-publicized cases. When a black kills a white such killings gets more publicity and we have evidence for that.

Unfortunately, this is further evidence that justice is definitely now blind in this country. Instead, what we see is that the life of a racial minority, particularly if /she is Black, is systematically devalued compared to that of a White person, whether it pertains to criminal justice, or even life-threatening visits to the emergency room.

In simple, plain English, that is what we refer to as racism.