NCJ Number
170940
Journal
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency Volume: 34 Issue: 1 Dated: (February 1997) Pages: 25-45
Date Published
1997
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This study explores the relevance of the "southern subculture of violence" thesis in explaining public attitudes toward capital punishment for convicted murderers.
Abstract
Prior research shows a link between racial prejudice and support for capital punishment as well as other types of aggressive and defensive behaviors. Analyses also suggest persistent structural and cultural discrimination against African-Americans in the South at levels greater than those in other regions. Given these empirical patterns, one hypothesis worth evaluating is whether racial prejudice is a relevant predictor of support for capital punishment among white southerners compared to that among nonsoutherners. The current study used data from the 1990 General Social Survey (GSS) to assess the argument that a southern subculture of punitiveness exists. The GSS showed little overall variation in levels of support for the death penalty between southerners and nonsoutherners; however, separate analyses of southerners and nonsoutherners show that regional subculture influences the effects of racial prejudice, religious fundamentalism, and political conservatism on support for capital punishment. The findings suggest the importance of recognizing not only the contextual nature of "southern violence" but also the variability of southern identity as well. 3 tables, 8 notes, and 55 references