Sentencing Discrepancy Social Sciences Essay Research

Sentencing Discrepancy
Name
Institution
Due Date
Sentencing Discrepancy
Crime and sentence given
Walter McMillian had his life completely altered in 1986 after he was accused of murder. A white woman by the name of Ronda Morrison was murdered in 1986. This crime happened in downtown Monroeville, Alabama, and the small town was in shock at the heinous activity. After six months of investigations, the police still had nothing but pressure from the townspeople made it difficult to share such information.
Walter McMillian was a logger at the time, and he had no criminal history. He was known in the community, and this is mainly because of an affair he had with a married white lady. There was no connection between McMillian and Ronda’s murder, but the police made sure that one sufficed. After coercing one witness to testify of McMillian’s guilt, the police arrested and charged McMillian with murder. The case moved so fast, and before his trial, McMillian was placed on death row for 15 months.
McMillian’s alibis were all ignored, and the jury found him guilty and “sentenced him to life imprisonment without parole” (EJI, 2020). However, the judges overrode this sentence and sentenced “Mr. McMillian to death by electrocution.”
Person’s racial and ethnic background
McMillian was an African American male whose life took a turn for the worst after being wrongfully accused of murder. The police, led by the Sheriff, worked hard to ensure that the man was found guilty and sentenced to death at the time. The police used coercion and their connections to make sure that McMillian spent 15 years on death row. The Sheriff, Tom Tate, is said to be in the middle of it all because “he arranged for Mr. McMillian to be placed on death row before his trial” (EJI, 2020). Being black and having an affair made McMillian a target and e...