White Offenders and Minority Victims – A Content Analysis of Death Penalty Cases

• In Event: Explorations of Political Economy

Abstract

Of the more than 1400 executions that have taken place in the United States since 1976 and the nearly 800 death penalty charges with White offenders, there have only been 67 executions with White offenders and non-White victims. Due to the comparative rarity of this occurrence and the discretion exercised in the application of the death penalty, a content analysis of the 67 death penalty cases was conducted with the intention of examining “what it takes for a White offender to kill a minority victim and receive a death sentence.” Findings indicate that there are criminological and sociological implications in understanding how the death penalty is applied when cases involve White offenders and minority victims.

Author

• Scott Bowman, Texas State University