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RACIAL PREJUDICE AND THE DEATH PENALTY: A RESEARCH NOTE

NCJ Number
143669
Journal
Social Justice Volume: 20 Issue: 1-2 Dated: (Spring-Summer 1993) Pages: 150-155
Author(s)
A Aguirre; D V Baker
Date Published
1993
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This study examined the association between racial prejudice toward black persons by white persons and their support for capital punishment.
Abstract
Data for this study were taken from the National Opinion Research Center 1984 General Social Survey (GSS). The sample from the 1984 GSS consisted of 1,473 white respondents. Interview schedules contained items that focused on a respondent's sensitivity to race relations in the United States, crime, and capital punishment. Models were tested through the use of logistic regression analysis. A racism scale was constructed from seven race-relations questions asked in the 1984 survey. The most important finding was the statistically significant association between racial prejudice and public support for the death penalty. This finding indicates that white persons who are racially prejudiced are significantly more likely to favor the death penalty than white persons who are not racially prejudiced. This finding tends to confirm Stinchcombe et al.'s (1980) general finding that a statistically significant relationship exists between public attitudes toward the death penalty and equality toward black persons. The finding suggests that white racial prejudice is expressed symbolically in the support for capital punishment by white persons. 1 table, appended racism scale questions, and 25 references

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