Racial Characteristics and the Imposition of the Death Penalty

• NCJ Number: 80800
• Journal: American Sociological Reviews Volume: 46 Issue: 6 Dated: (December 1981) Pages: 918-927
• Author(s): M L Radelet
• Date Published: 1981
• Length: 10 pages
• Sponsoring Agency: Edna McConnell Clark Foundation; North Shore Unitarian Veatch Program; NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Presented at the 1981 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association in Toronto.

Annotation

This paper explores the question of whether death penalty statutes passed after the 1972 Supreme Court decision in Furman v. Georgia successfully eliminate racial disparities in capital cases.

Abstract

Over 600 homicide indictments in twenty Florida counties in 1976 and 1977 were examined, focusing on homicides between strangers (nonprimary homicides). Those accused of murdering whites are more likely to be sentenced to death than those accused of murdering blacks. This trend is due primarily to the higher probability for those accused of murdering whites to be indicted for first degree murder. When controlling for race of the victim, the data do not clearly support the hypothesis that race of the defendant is strongly associated with the probability of a first degree murder indictment or the imposition of the death penalty. (Author abstract)