NCJ Number
188791
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 29 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2001 Pages: 207-218
Editor(s)
Kent B. Joscelyn
Date Published
May 2001
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study examined racial and case characteristics of those sentenced to death in Ohio and attempted to determine if racial disparity existed in the imposition of death sentences.
Abstract
Over the years the death penalty has resulted in a number of studies attempting to determine if its application is consistent with guidelines established by the United States Supreme Court. This study examined the imposition of death sentences in Ohio that until 1999 had not executed an inmate since 1963. The focus of this study was on a non-southern State with a large death row population with little previous examination. Drawing from previous studies that examined the issue in other States, this study assessed the likelihood that a particular homicide would result in a death sentence, controlling for race of defendant and victim and other relevant factors. Homicides where blacks killed whites were the group most likely to receive a death sentence. Homicides with black victims, regardless of the race of the suspect, were typically the least likely to result in a death sentence. In addition, blacks killing blacks comprised the largest group of homicides and they were the racial grouping least likely to receive a death sentence. This study did not find the degree of racial disparity as in previous studies though it was clear that race of the victim increased the likelihood of a homicide resulting in a death sentence in Ohio. The degree of disparity found in Ohio closely resembled that found in Illinois. Tables and references