NCJ Number
108196
Journal
Mercer Law Review Volume: 37 Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1986) Pages: 911-925
Date Published
1986
Length
15 pages
Annotation
James Dupree Henry was executed in Florida in 1984 for murdering a black victim. This execution is one of the rare cases in which the death penalty apparently was not linked to the race of the victim.
Abstract
A content analysis of the newspaper coverage between the time of the homicide in March and sentencing in June 1974 suggests that this case is not as unusual as it at first appears. The data support the conclusion that the community was less concerned about the murder of a black victim than it was about the wounding of a white police officer who attempted to take Henry into custody. Thus, the presence of a white victim, although not a homicide victim, greatly increased the likelihood of a capital sentence. While these data were sufficient to win Henry a temporary stay of execution in the trial court, the Florida Supreme Court ultimately removed the stay. 2 tables and 60 footnotes.