Racism in death penalty and sentencing symptom of capitalism

There were two studies recently published that dealt with racism and minorities in the united states criminal justice system. The first study which was first published in the Santa Clara Law Review mainly focused on our brothers and sisters on death row. It gave us a first ever detailed accounting of how racism plays a significant role on who gets the death penalty here in the state of California. The study focused on 263 California death sentences in the 1990s (there were 302 death sentences issued during that time.) The study illuminated 39 cases where a person was sentenced to death for multiple murders that took the lives of victims from different races or ethnic groups. Of the 263 sentences, 142 were handed down for killing whites; 44 rendered for murdering Blacks; 52 for Latinos; and 25 for other races. During that time period there were 8,136 whites killed; 9,338 Blacks; 14,089 Latinos, and 2,037 victims of other races.

The second study focused on "sentencing" and how we as minorities receive longer and harsher sentences opposed to whites who enter the criminal justice system. The study went on to speak about the juvenile justice system as well. And the numbers were extremely disparaging for us. The number of teens incarcerated was overwhelming. However, what was the most alarming thing was the number of teens who were given life terms.

So as we can see, racism does in fact play a major role in the criminal justice system here in this country. However, we as a whole cannot continue to just solely focus on racism as being the sole purpose of our oppressive conditions. Racism is but a symptom of a much more deadly disease, a disease that has many different symptoms such as militarism, prostitution, slavery, colonialism, drug addiction, and racism, to name but a few. Many of us have unfortunately been under the misconception that we could deal with racism and other such issues in an individual and separate basis. However, as we can clearly see, this approach is completely and utterly useless. Not to mention detrimental to our cause. The only way we can truly and effectively rid ourselves, brothers and sisters, of this sickness, is to attack the sickness at its core. We have to understand that the thing that's breeding these oppressive conditions for us is none other than capitalism.

Capitalism is the sickness that I speak of. Our social, political and cultural situation revolves and is dictated by our economic situation, which in turn is dictated by our oppressors. They have total and complete control over us, so long as we continue to allow them to impose this dreadful and deadly capitalist/parasitic system on us. The only way we will ever shake loose these shackles around our feet and neck is through revolution and the installment of a dictatorship led by the proletariat. Comrades, it's time that we as a whole start raising our social and political consciousness. No longer should we depend on the whites to deliver us, because that's never going to happen. Like MIM correctly pointed out in their theory journal #7 about revolutionary nationalism, "whites have absolutely no material interest in seeing racism come to an end." Their so-called democratic institutions weren't set up for us. In fact these corrupt institutions only help to hinder us and our struggle towards true freedom. Raise up comrades and let's fight back for what's truly ours. Freedom, justice, honor and humanity.

If change is truly going to come about, it is us the oppressed nations within this country who must bring it about.

- A California prisoner, October 2005