Race for Your Life: An Analysis of the Role of Race in Erroneous Capital Convictions

Abstract

Prior research on the role of race in wrongful capital convictions has focused primarily on the race of the defendant. In contrast, this article begins with two case studies that illustrate the impact of the race of the defendant and also the race of the victim in contributing to erroneous convictions. The second section of this article identifies the race of the defendant and the victim in 82 cases where prisoners were released from death row because of doubts about their guilt and in a matched group of inmates who were executed. Through the use of three logistic regression models, the combination of the race of the defendant and the race of the victim is identified as a significant predictor of case outcome (exoneration vs. execution). The results also indicate that an indirect relationship may exist between the combination of the race of the defendant and the victim, the strength of the evidence, and case outcome.

Wrongful Conviction

“…indicates, we believe, that there exists a deep concern about this problem among criminal justice professionals. Many of the suggestions of these practitioners reflect those offered by prior research (for example, see Drizen & Leo, 2003Leo, -2004Gross, 1996;Harmon, 2004;Huff et al, 1986) and should provide significant procedural implications and food for thought for policy makers. Reflecting the multifaceted and complex nature of wrongful conviction, respondent suggestions addressed a variety of issues.…”

“…Others have focused primarily on the issues concerning wrongful conviction and capital punishment (Bedau & Radelet, 1987, 1988Cohen, 2003;Dieter, 1997;Fan, Keltner, & Wyatt, 2002;Gross, 1998;Liebman, Fagan, & West, 2000;Radelet & Bedau, 1998;Radelet, Bedau, & Putnam, 1992;McCloskey, 1996;Unnever & Cullen, 2005;Weinstock & Schwartz, 1998). Still other studies have focused on specific types of errors, such as eyewitness error (Wells & Olson, 2003), false confessions (Connery, 1996;Drizin & Leo, 2003Kassin, 1997;Leo & Ofshe, 1997-1998, police error (McMahon, 1995), prosecutor error (Gershman, 1999), ineffective counsel (Finer, 1973), and the impact of race (Harmon, 2004;Parker, Dewees, & Radelet, 2002;Young, 2004). Some researchers have sought to better understand and determine the nature and extent of wrongful convictions (Gross, Jocoby, Matheson, Montgomery, & Patel, 2005;Huff & Rattner, 1988;Huff et al, 1996;Huff, Rattner, & Sagarin, 1986;Poveda, 2001;Ramsey, 2003;Rattner, 1988).…”

Racial Disparity in Police Contacts

“…For more than 30 years, criminologists have studied racial differences in criminal justice experiences. Studies have considered both juvenile and adult patterns of arrest (Piliavin & Briar, 1964), conviction (Adler, 2006; Harmon, 2004), and sentencing (Kleck, 1981). These studies have traced individuals in the criminal (Engen, Gainey, Crutchfield, & Weis, 2003) and juvenile justice systems (Bridges & Steen, 1998), and a number of studies have considered correlates of aggregate race differences in criminal justice processing (Blumstein, 1982; Bridges & Crutchfield, 1988).…”

Too Late for Luck: A Comparison of Post-Furman Exonerations and Executions of the Innocent

“…Racial prejudice has long played an integral part in the debate over the death penalty (Bedau & Radelet, 1987;Harmon, 2004;Radelet et al, 1996). For example, "nearly 90 percent of those executed for rape since 1930 were black" (Gross & Mauro, 1987, p. 27).…”

“…For example, "nearly 90 percent of those executed for rape since 1930 were black" (Gross & Mauro, 1987, p. 27). Studies continue to indicate that racial discrimination persists in the application of the death penalty (Baldus & Woodworth, 1998;Bedau & Radelet, 1987;Harmon, 2004;Radelet et al, 1992). The Baldus, Woodworth, and Pulaski (1990) study suggests that murderers of White victims in Georgia are four times more likely to receive the death penalty than are murderers of African American victims.…”