This study extends previous research on the interactive effects of victim race and gender on death sentence outcomes reported by Williams and Holcomb (2004). They report an interactive effect between victim race and victim gender on Ohio death sentencing outcomes, such that killers of White women are especially at risk of receiving death sentences. The study here seeks to determine if the Williams and Holcomb finding holds for a sample of murder cases in North Carolina for which the state sought the death penalty. Initial results of a descriptive analysis suggest a White female victim effect, but the introduction of control variables via logistic regression equations yields no gender or race interactions as predictors of sentencing outcomes. Reasons for the different outcomes are explored, and topics requiring further exploration are discussed.

Understanding the impact of state licensing on social work practice remains a critical concern for social work academics and professionals alike. Given the complex social problems of our times, social workers need to be prepared to intervene with the individual, in various structural dimensions, and to engage in policy debates at the core of human injustice and suffering. Currently, there is insufficient research on the impact of state licensing on the profession and on accredited social work education. The purpose of this article is to begin to address this by providing an overview of the current state of social work licensing across the United States and to analyze the implications of social work regulations as they relate to the future of macro social work practice and education.

Disparities in the administration of capital punishment are a prominent social and political issue. Recent studies indicate that victim characteristics of sex and race produce interactive effects on capital-sentencing outcomes. Extending this line of research, the current analysis explores the intersection of victim sex with victim conduct and victim-defendant relationship, utilizing a population of North Carolina capital cases spanning the years 1977 to 2009 ( N = 1,285). Findings indicate that cases with a female victim who was not involved in illegal activity at the time of the murder and acquaintance female victim cases are most likely to result in a death recommendation. Potential reasons for these findings are discussed.

This article presents the challenges facing 41 youths living in a distressed urban area, and their adaptations to those challenges. Scholarship in the areas of community building, youth civic engagement, and employment helped to develop the theoretical outline for this project. Through the use of focus groups, adolescents of color, ages 14-18, were asked a series of open-ended questions about what youths need in order to be economically and socially involved in their neighborhood. Responses indicate a need for practitioners to incorporate protective factors in the community environment, and nonkin adults in intervention plans and programs. In addition, the evolving innovative partnership between a newly formed community development corporation and the neighborhood youths that emerged from this process is discussed.

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