What principle did the Court establish in McCleskey v. Kemp regarding race and the death penalty?

In McCleskey v. Kemp, the Supreme Court addressed the issue of racial bias in the administration of the death penalty. The core principle established in this case is that statistical evidence demonstrating a racial disparity in death penalty sentencing does not automatically prove that an individual defendant was discriminated against based on race. The Court acknowledged the existence of systemic bias and disparities in sentencing but emphasized that for a successful constitutional claim, there needs to be concrete evidence of discriminatory intent in the particular case being considered.

Thus, the ruling clarified that demonstrating overall racial disparities in the application of the death penalty, even if statistically significant, is not sufficient to establish that a specific defendant's death sentence resulted from racial discrimination. This underscores the necessity for individual case evaluations, rather than relying solely on generalized statistics, to prove claims of discrimination in legal proceedings.