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Comparison of Death-Sentenced and Incarcerated Murderers in Pre-Furman Texas

NCJ Number
140109
Journal
Justice Quarterly Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1992) Pages: 185-210
Author(s)
P H Ralph; J R Sorensen; J W Marquart
Date Published
1992
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the sentencing patterns in murder cases in Texas from 1942 to 1971 -- a period prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Furman v. Georgia (1972), in which most of the majority held that capital punishment as then administered constituted cruel and unusual punishment because of the arbitrary and capricious manner in which judges and juries selected offenders to be executed.
Abstract
The study focuses on whether or not the fate of capital murderers in the three decades preceding "Furman" was determined by legally relevant evidence (the facts of the case and prior record) or by jurors influenced by such extralegal factors as the offender's or victim's race. Historical data are analyzed for two groups of offenders: those sentenced to death and those given a prison term. Legal and extralegal variables that may have influenced sentencing decisions are considered. Through the use of multivariate analysis, the study finds that in the three decades preceding the "Furman" decision, the primary extralegal variable that affected the sentencing of murderers in Texas was the victim's race, rather than the defendant's race. The study concludes that many researchers in the pre-Furman era failed to consider the role of legal variables in capital sentencing. The authors argue that research on capital sentencing must include both legal and extralegal variables to obtain a true picture of the sentencing process. 38 references and 5 tables

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