NCJ Number
232044
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 27 Issue: 5 Dated: October 2010 Pages: 742-763
Date Published
October 2010
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This article examines New York governors' clemency decisions between 1900 and 1963.
Abstract
This article examines the factors explaining New York governors' clemency decisions in capital cases between 1900 and 1963. It relies on a statistical analysis of 130 cases in which death sentences were commuted and a comparison sample of 146 cases resulting in execution. The analysis suggests that governors were more inclined to grant clemency to offenders younger than 21, when appellate court decisions included dissenting opinions, when mitigating factors outnumbered aggravating factors, and when death sentences were imposed pursuant to mandatory capital punishment provisions. The study failed to produce evidence that racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic variables were related to clemency decisions. The statistical analysis is complemented by discussion of the results of a qualitative study of New York capital clemency decisions. The article concludes by urging that a similar combined approach involving quantitative and qualitative techniques be employed to gain further insights into the exercise of clemency discretion in contemporary capital cases. Tables and references (Published Abstract)