Racism and white death penalty support
| Published date | 01 June 2016 |
| Date | 01 June 2016 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1461355716645357 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Racism and white death penalty support:
A test of the racist punitive
bias hypothesis
Michele P Bratina
West Chester University of Pennsylvania, USA
Amanda K Cox
The Pennsylvania State University, Altoona, USA
Matthew D Fetzer
Shippensburg University, USA
Abstract
Research indicates a significant, positive relationship between racial prejudice and death penalty support among white
people. The racist punitive bias hypothesis has been proposed as a possible explanation for this relationship, indicating that
racially prejudiced people might be more supportive of the death penalty because they perceive minority individuals to be
criminal and, therefore, more likely to be subject to the punishment. This study attempted to test the validity of the racist
punitive bias hypothesis using or with a convenience sample of U.S. residents. Path and regression analyses indicated a link
between racial prejudice and white death penalty support, but did not support the racist punitive bias hypothesis. Policy
implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Keywords
Race, death penalty, sentencing, prejudice, ethnicity
Submitted 19 Aug 2015, accepted 14 Mar 2016
Introduction
Research shows a correlation between racial prejudice
among white people and white death penalty support (Bar-
kan and Cohn, 1994; Buckler et al., 2008; Unneve r and
Cullen, 2007; Unnever et al., 2008 ; Young, 2004). This
relationship elicits concern that capital jurists may harbor
racial prejudices given that such juries are likely to include
a high number of white death penalty supporters d ue to
death qualification as well as white people’s higher levels
of death penalty support when compared with black people
(Bobo and Johnson, 2004; Cochran and Chamlin, 2006;
Unnever et al., 2008). Racial prejudice among capital jur-
ists has implications for fairness in death sentencing, and it
has been hypothesized that such prejudice might predi ct
racial disparities in the imposition of the death penalty in
the USA, where black people are disproportionately
sentenced to the punishment (Baldus et al., 2011; Baldus
and Woodworth, 1998; Barkan and Cohn, 1994; Buckler
et al., 2008; Cohn et al., 1991; Keil and Vito, 2006; Pritch-
ard and Wiatrowski, 2008; United States General Account-
ing Office, 1990; Unnever and Cullen, 2007; Young, 2004).
For reasons related to the arbitrariness of its imposition,
and the imperfect nature of its administration, capital pun-
ishment has been abolished in 19 states, the most recent of
which includes the state of Nebraska (Death Penalty Infor-
mation Center, 2015). Furthermore, the United States
Supreme Court has recently decided on the constitutionality
Corresponding author:
Michele P Bratina, West Chester University of Pennsylvania, 200A Ruby
Jones Hall, West Chester, PA 19383, USA.
Email: mbratina@wcupa.edu
International Journalof
Police Science & Management
2016, Vol. 18(2) 140–154
ªThe Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/1461355716645357
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