Exploring the Conviction and Sentencing of Homicide Offenders in the Context of the Liberation Hypothesis

• In Event: Deliberating Death: Inside the Capital Jury Box

Abstract

The court-processing stages of the United States criminal justice system involve numerous actors and decision points that are susceptible to influence by both legal and extralegal variables attributed to the case, defendant, and/or victim, resulting in variations in the disposition of criminal cases or the sentencing of offenders. As guided by the liberation hypothesis, the present study explores the extent to which certain legal and extralegal factors impact homicide case disposition and sentence length utilizing a sample of individuals charged with a homicide offense in an urban city in New Jersey between 1997 and 2007. The results provide minimal support for the liberation hypothesis. Few legal factors were found to be predictive of case disposition and extralegal factors were unable to explain variation in case outcome for cases of low and medium severity, as proposed by the liberation hypothesis. Case severity and its attendant variables were related to sentence length though extralegal factors explained much variation in the sentence provided, countering the assumptions of the liberation hypothesis. The study findings and research limitations are discussed.

Authors

• Kristen M. Zgoba, New Jersey Department of Corrections

• Laura M. Salerno, New Jersey Department of Corrections

• Jesenia M. Pizarro, Arizona State University