NCJ Number
137716
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 20 Issue: 3 Dated: (1992) Pages: 217-226
Date Published
1992
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Using data from the Espy and Smyka file on executions in the United States, this study examined the effects of the "Furman" and "Gregg" U.S. Supreme Court decisions on black-white execution ratios in the South.
Abstract
In the Furman v. Georgia (1972) decision, the U.S. Supreme Court declared the death penalty unconstitutional in its application. The findings of racial bias demonstrated sufficient signs of arbitrariness to lead the Court to its decision. The Furman decision led to a hiatus in executions but no outright abolition of capital punishment. In Gregg v. Georgia (1976), the Court supported restoration of capital punishment under a sentencing process that has come to be known as "guided discretion." In assessing whether or not the Furman and Gregg decisions had lasting effects on the pattern of executions in the South, this study examined the ratio of black to white executions in the South from 1900 to 1987. Findings indicate that the system established in Gregg had the desired effect of reducing the most apparent and visible form of discrimination in capital sentencing. It lowered the disparity in black-white execution ratios. On the surface, bias in capital punishment was controlled because the race of the offender was no longer a determining factor. Blacks were no longer more likely to be executed than whites. Indeed, in both the subregions of the South examined, the number of executions of whites exceeded that of blacks following the Gregg decision. The Gregg decision, however, did not impact a more subtle form of racial discrimination in the application of capital punishment. Blacks who kill white victims are more likely to receive capital punishment than whites who kill other whites. 10 tables, 7 notes, and 35 references