At 10:36 PM 12/05/2000 -0400, Issodhos @aol.com wrote:

>    That said, it would seem quite difficult to determine, without allowing
>subjectiveness to enter into the equation, who would be considered rich or
>poor.  Would a crack peddler pulling down 5 thousand dollars a week be
>categorized as rich?  And there is the question of whether we want to even
>hint at the idea that murdering a fellow human being can be rationalized away
>by claiming economic disparity.

Who said anything about rationalising murder?  I'd suggest that the
majority of victims of state-supported murder come from the lower class -
low socio-economic status, if you prefer.  I'd suggest that rich murderers
can not only afford better lawyers, but are also more likely to be seen as
pillars of society, who couldn't possibly be executed.  This may be because
they're closer to having common class backgrounds to the judges imposing
death penalties.

This is the heart of arguments which state that the death penalty is
applied unfairly.

Alister