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Adding to the ever growing research exposing the blatant inequities in our criminal justice system is a new report by the Death Penalty Information Center which shows that the majority of all executions in the United States occur in very small geographic regions.

The report found that of the over 3,000 counties in the US only 2 percent have been responsible for a majority of death row sentencing. Criminal justice data gathered since the 1976 decision by the US Supreme Court to lift a moratorium on the death penalty, found that an individual’s geographic location and race played a major role in the type of sentence which was handed down.

Individuals with the misfortune of being sentenced in California, Texas, Oklahoma or Florida have a much higher chance of ending up on death row. Despite declining rates of incarceration, three fourths of all executions take place in a handful of counties located in these four states and taxpayers are spending upwards of $25 billion dollars a year to finance death row sentences.

While Texas executes more prisoners than any other state, surprisingly it is three counties in California: Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange that take the prize when it comes to the highest number of prisoners sentenced to be on death row.

GUEST: Richard Dieter, Executive Director of the Death Penalty Information Center

Visit www.deathpenaltyinfo.org for more information and to download the report.