by Jesse Jackson Sr. and Jesse Jackson Jr.

About the authors: Jesse Jackson Sr. is president of the National Rainbow Coalition, a social justice organization. He has been active in civil rights issues since the 1960s. Jesse Jackson Jr. is a Democratic congressman from Illinois.

Who receives the death penalty has less to do with the violence of the crime than with the color of the criminal's skin or, more often, the color of the victim's skin. Murder—always tragic—seems to be a more heinous and despicable crime in some states than in others. Women who kill and who are killed are judged by different standards than are men who are murderers and victims.

The death penalty is essentially an arbitrary punishment. There are no objective rules or guidelines for when a prosecutor should seek the...