Making Death a Spectacle: Execution, Racial Terror, and the Power of the State

Details: By Vernellia Randall; Parent Category: Criminal Justice and Racism; Category: Death Penalty; 11 October 2026; Hits: 78

Article Index

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Secondary Sources

Associated Press, “Christa Pike is discharged from a hospital after surviving execution attempt, her attorneys say” (October 10, 2026). AP News. https://apnews.com/article/5949ace6ed0e81d923348d10ed03e040. Last checked October 11, 2026.

Death Penalty Information Center, “Race, Rape, and the Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/policy-issues/biases-and-vulnerabilities/race/race-rape-and-the-death-penalty. Last visited October 11, 2026.

Equal Justice Initiative, Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror (3d ed. 2017). Equal Justice Initiative. https://lynchinginamerica.eji.org/report/. Last visited October 11, 2026.

Reuters, “Republican opposition widens to livestreamed execution; Trump still weighing it” (October 9, 2026). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/vance-says-he-does-not-know-if-pentagon-will-proceed-with-livestream-fort-hood-2026-10-09/. Last visited October 11, 2026.

Reuters, “Tennessee execution survivor Christa Pike is conscious and speaking, lawyers say” (October 6, 2026). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/tennessee-execution-survivor-christa-pike-is-conscious-speaking-media-reports-2026-10-06/. Last visited October 11, 2026.

Reuters, “Trump orders firing squad for gunman who killed 13 people at Fort Hood, Texas” (October 6, 2026). Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-orders-firing-squad-gunman-who-killed-13-people-fort-hood-texas-2026-10-06/. Last visited October 11, 2026.

Vernellia R. Randall, Professor Emerita of Law, University of Dayton School of Law. This article is the sole intellectual and scholarly work of Vernellia Randall. ChatGPT was used only as a drafting aid comparable to a research or editing assistant. All concepts, analysis, legal reasoning, interpretations, and conclusions are entirely the author’s own, and the author assumes full responsibility for the content.

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Race, Racism and the Law
Vernellia R. Randall
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