Application of the Death Penalty Among Racial Minorities in the United States

• In Event: Variation in Capital Case Outcomes

Abstract

Prior research on race and the capital punishment focuses predominantly on majority-minority interracial disparities with little focus on intra-group disparities in the death penalty’s application. This research explores disparities regarding the death penalty's application on African Americans as opposed to other racial minority groups. The objective of this investigation is to determine if African Americans receive a lesser humane execution method as compared to members of other racial minorities in the United States. The data originated from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research. The data includes race, gender, age, name, occupation, state of execution, and method of execution. Data was coded to classify execution cases into four categories: most human, humane, less humane, and least humane. The four categories encompass various execution methods ranging from firing squad, which was classified as most humane, to hanging, pressing, and bludgeoning, which were classified as least humane. Statistical analysis of the data was conducted utilizing Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results indicate African Americans historically received a “lesser or least humane” method of execution as compared to other minority groups. The analysis lends support to research stating the death penalty should be abolished because it is racially biased.

Author

• Sierra Jane Satterfield, Pennsylvania State University