The enduring racial divide in death penalty support

Personal and Vicarious Experience with the Criminal Justice System as a Predictor of Punitive Sentencing Attitudes

“…Our research findings failed to confirm the hypothesis that African-American respondents would be more likely than Hispanics to perceive sentence length/other punishments as too harsh; results indicated that Hispanic respondents were more likely than African-Americans to view the criminal justice system as overly harsh. Several of our research findings coincided with previous research; specifically, male respondents were more punitive than female respondents, Hispanic and African-Americans were less punitive than Whites, individuals with higher levels of income were more punitive than respondents with lower levels of income, older respondents were more punitive than younger respondents, and individuals with high levels of religiosity were more punitive than respondents with lower levels (see Applegate et al, 1993Applegate et al, , 2002Buckler et al, 2008;Cochran & Chamlin, 2006;Miller, Rossi, & Simpson, 1986). Contrary to prior research findings, Republican respondents were less punitive than Democratic and Independent respondents (see Stack, 2000;Unnever & Cullen, 2005;Young, 1992).…”

“…Regarding race/ethnicity, past research has revealed that in general, minorities hold less punitive attitudes than non-minorities (Applegate et al, 1993(Applegate et al, , 2000Barkan & Cohn, 1994Bohm, 1999;Cochran & Chamlin, 2006;Halim & Stiles, 2001;Unnever & Cullen, 2005, 2007aYoung, 1991Young, , 1992. For example, Buckler, Davila, and Salinas (2008) found that Whites hold more punitive attitudes regarding punishment compared to African-Americans, and AfricanAmericans tend to be less supportive of the death penalty than Whites.…”

Racial Differences in Public Support for the Death Penalty: Can Racist sentiment and Core Values Explain the Racial Divide?

“…Future research should also look to identify other factors that potentially contribute to the racial divide in support for capital punishment. In particular, Cochran and Chamlin (2006) suggest that racial differences in socioeconomic status, political ideology, religious ideology, right-tolife issues (abortion), social welfare and government spending positions, criminal justice experiences, victimization experiences, and philosophy of punishment, may explain racial differences in death penalty support. Researchers should look to incorporate these potential explanations so that a more complete explanation of the racial differences in death penalty support can continue to develop.…”

Racial prejudice, perceived injustice, and the Black-White gap in punitive attitudes

“…For example, one of the most consistent findings in survey research is that Whites are much more likely to favor the death penalty than are Blacks (Bobo & Johnson, 2004;Bohm, 1991;Cochran & Chamlin, 2006;Combs & Comer, 1984). In addition, research shows that Whites prefer more severe prison sentences than do Blacks (Blumstein & Cohen, 1980;Miller, Rossi, & Simpson, 1986), and that Whites are less supportive of rehabilitation efforts than are their Black counterparts (Gerber & Engelhardt-Greer, 1996;McCorkle, 1993).…”

“…Bobo and Johnson (2004) found that even after accounting for a variety of relevant variables such as perceived racial bias, racial resentment, and crime salience, Whites were still more likely to favor capital punishment than Blacks. Similarly, Cochran and Chamlin (2006) tested eleven of the most prominent explanations for the Black-White difference in death penalty attitudes but could not eliminate the racial gap. More recently, Unnever and Cullen (2007) assessed the racial divide in support for capital punishment and found a persistent racial difference despite numerous controls.…”