Keywords
statistics, criminal law, death sentences, united states
Document Type
Article
Abstract
The annual number of new death sentences in the United States has fallen by more than 75% in the last two decades. The current study examines 1,665 death-eligible cases from 1994, 2004, and 2014 to draw empirically based conclusions that can shed light on some significant predictors associated with this dramatic decline. The results of logistic regression models suggest that the following were consistently significant predictors of case outcomes throughout the country over time: multiple perpetrators, age of perpetrators between 18 and 20 years, number of mitigators, cases with high and low aggravation, and five formerly high-volume counties. By contrast, factors that were important predictors of case outcomes in 1994 but that became insignificant in later years were robbery-murder and limited-revenue counties; the murder rate was not significant in 1994 but became significant in later years. Allegations of intellectual disability and county population size were not significant predictors in any of the years.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.21428/b6e95092.c60df452
Recommended Citation
Harmon, Talia R. and McCord, David
(2019)
"A Statistical Analysis of Predictors Associated with the Dramatic Decline in Death Sentences in the United States in the Last Two Decades,"
Journal of Criminal Justice and Law: Vol. 3:
Iss.
1, Article 1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21428/b6e95092.c60df452
Available at:
https://research.library.kutztown.edu/jcjl/vol3/iss1/1