An Analysis of Long-Term Judicial Outcomes for Defendants Convicted in Capital Punishment Trials

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

This study presents an analysis of the long-term judicial outcomes for 1,010 defendants convicted of first-degree murder in North Carolina between 1977-2012 in trials where juries returned recommendations for sentences of death or life in prison. The initial year of 1977 marks the return of capital punishment in North Carolina following the Furman and Gregg U.S. Supreme Court decisions, while 2012 is selected as an end date to allow time for post-conviction developments to transpire. The judicial outcomes for convicted defendants across this 35-year time span are coded into categories that indicate (1) how they fared in the appeals process; (2) subsequent judicial outcomes if their convictions or sentences were overturned; and (3) whether they are still incarcerated, and if not, why not. This topic is rarely found in the existing literature, especially to the extent that it provides a comprehensive, long-term determination of the fates of defendants receiving either a death or life sentence in capital murder trials. The findings serve to vividly illustrate how judicial activity continues well after initial convictions are rendered in capital punishment trials, resulting in a substantial variety of outcomes for defendants.

Authors

• Dwayne Smith, University of South Florida

• Janine Kremling, California State University, San Bernardino

• Sondra Fogel, University of South Florida

• Beth Bjerregaard, University of North Carolina at Charlotte