On the Death Penalty:

Transcription

1 On the Death Penalty: Voices from Missouri s African American Community A Collaboration between the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) & the National Black Caucus of States Institute (NBCSI) American Friends Service Committee Area Office 438 N. Skinker Blvd., MO 6313 (314)

2 On the Death Penalty: Voices from Missouri s African American Community About the Respondents

3 Breakdown of Geographical Charts ST. LOUIS Represents the city/county metropolitan area KANSAS CITY Represents the city/county metropolitan area MID MISSOURI Represents (Jefferson City & Columbia)

4 Gender of Interviewees Females Males 2 Total Kansas City

5 Age Categories of Interviewees yrs 2-34 yrs 3- yrs -6 yrs 6+

6 Income Categories of Interviewees Below $2K $2-K $-1K $1-2K

7 Work and School Status of Interviewees Full Time P-Time Retired Unempl FT Stud PT Stud

8 Education Status of Interviewees Jr Hi Some College Masters

9 Military Service of Interviewees No Yes

10 Voting Tendencies of Interviewees Dem Rep Indy No Pattern

11 On the Death Penalty: Voices from Missouri s African American Community Relationship to Law & Justice Issues

12 Time Spent Considering Issues Related to Law & Justice Both Personal Work No Yes % spent time in a typical week considering the issues

13 Interviewee and/or Family Members who Were Victims of Crime Yes No

14 Disposition of Crime Against Those Victims No Report Rep, No Arrest Arrested, No Conv Conv, Fined Conv, Sent

15 Interviewee and/or Family Members Who Were Falsely Accused of Committing a Crime Yes No

16 Disposition of Those False Accusations Never Arr Never Trial Never Conv Conv, Fined Conv, sent

17 Follow media coverage on the death penalty 44% follow sometimes 24% follow usually 2% follow infrequently, rarely, never 12% follow always Attention to coverage based upon the following: Circumstances of the case Well-known or highly publicized case Child was involved Case happened locally Personal connection to the case

18 Are the Interviewee s Views on the Death Penalty Different Today than 1 Years Ago? NO By almost 2 to 1 ratio Maturity Learning about the issues

19 Did the Interviewee Know a Person Convicted of Capital Punishment or on Death Row Yes No 83 % did NOT professionally or personally know anyone

20 On the Death Penalty: Voices from Missouri s African American Community About the Faith, Spiritual & Philosophical Systems

21 Faith and Spiritual Identification of Interviewee Faith Spirituality

22 Who Participates in a Religious Organization, Congregation or Temple Yes No Choice-NA

23 Who Regularly Attends a House of Worship No Yes % of the respondents indicated their faith leader didn t talk about the death penalty 83% of the respondents indicated that no group in the church discussed the issue

24 Who is Influenced by a Holy Book Yes No Bible Quran Meta Neter

25 Teachings That Frame Thinking of Interviewee Yes No

26 Influences on death penalty views Faith System Education Court System Government Family Media Friends Spiritual Leaders Constitution Political Leaders Co-workers

27 On the Death Penalty: Voices from Missouri s African American Community About Electoral Involvement

28 Activism in the Community Yes Some No What kind of activities? Political campaigns, advocacy, lobbying events, forums, protests and contacting elected officials participate on boards, etc. 1. Campaigns 2. Forums 3. Advocacy 4. Elected Officials

29 Involvement of Interviewees in Politics Yes No

30 Party Affiliation of Interviewees Dem Rep Indy None

31 Frequency of Voting by Interviewees Always Some Seldom Never

32 How Interviewees Vote on Issues Liberal Conserv Moderate Depends

33 On the Death Penalty: Voices from Missouri s African American Community Thoughts on Capital Punishment

34 Belief of Interviewees that Death Penalty is Applied Fairly Yes No Unsure 9% responded NO Most of them cited reasons related to race & class/economic status

35 Interviewees Belief that Government has a Right to Kill? Yes No Unsure

36 Interviewees who Believe the Death Penalty a Deterrent to Crime? No Yes 91% Said No

37 Interviewees Who Were Impacted by Forensic Technology On their View on the Death Penalty (Such As DNA) Yes No

38 Interviewees Support of the Death Penalty Favor Sometimes Against Unsure Favor: Nature of crimes; personal responsibility Against: Unfairly applied based on race, class; belief system Unsure: Complex issue; different situations

39 On the Death Penalty: Voices from Missouri s African American Community Getting Involved

40 Those Interviewees who Wanted Information on Death Penalty Listening Project Yes No

41 Those Interviewees Who Wanted to Get Involved with a Group Who Shares Their Views Yes No

42 Implications for Organizing around the Death Penalty African Americans have a definite belief system as it related to their view of the death penalty. African Americans are paying attention to death penalty issues. African Americans opposed to the death penalty transcends age, gender, class and religious backgrounds. There are opportunities for engaging in education/discussion in the faith-based spaces and with political leadership. African Americans are politically involved in the electoral process.