North Carolina Study Says Race A Factor in Death Penalty Sentencing

A study of a 28-year period in death penalty sentencing in North Carolina reveals that the race of the defendant and the victim plays a role in sentencing determination.  The study, conducted by University of Colorado-Boulder sociologist Michael Radelet, and research scientist Glenn Pierce of Northeastern University's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, says African American defendants in homicide cases are three times more likely to be sentenced to death if their victims were white.

The study comes as some capital defendants in the state are appealing their sentences through North Carolina's Racial Justice Act.  The law, passed last year, permits defendants to use statistics and other evidence to prove racial bias in the application of capital punishment. Radelet and Pierce say such sentencing may not be deliberate, but add that their research cannot determine why race is a factor in death penalty sentencing.  For more details on the study, see articles in the Winston-Salem Journal, the Raleigh News and Observer, and the University of Colorado-Boulder newspaper, the Daily Camera.