Latino Capital Punishment Defendants’ and Their Families’ Views of the Police: Exploring Attitudes towards the Police via Multiple Marginality Theory

• In Event: Encountering the Police: Studying Latin@ and Black Peoples' Experiences, Interactions, and Perceptions

Abstract

This paper explores views of the police by a segment of the Latina/o population most likely to have frequent and negative encounters with police; Latinos involved in serious criminal activity. Data for this project was gathered as a result of working nine capital murder cases as an expert witness. More specifically, semi-structured life interviews were conducted with nine Latinos convicted of capital murder and with more than 50 family members and individuals who lived in the same communities as the convicted men. The findings reveal that the convicted Latinos had repeated interactions with the police and these contacts at times were perceived to be warranted but there were instances where the police were viewed as harassing these young men and their friends. Family members also felt harassed by law enforcement feeling that their entire families needlessly became targets of police suppression activities. Using Vigil’s multiple marginality theory, this research also explains how factors such as poverty, experiences with the education system, frequent encounters with the police and family dynamics help inform how attitudes toward the police are shaped.

Author

• Edwardo Portillo, University of Colorado Colorado Springs