THE MODERN-DAY LYNCH MOB: RACISM, JURIES AND CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

This study analyzes public opinion and sentencing practices of potential capital jurors in the United States to understand why support for the death penalty is so high and why racial disparities continue to pervade the system. A legal and social history of this domestic statute is presented in tandem with a literature review of the jury studies that have been performed by sociologists and psychologists who understand the importance of this issue. The present study, that randomly assigns the respondents to one of four court case scenarios, finds that racism against the African American defendant, especially by white jurors and when his victim is white, is pertinent. The findings also support the Marshall Hypothesis that people who are educated will oppose the death penalty at higher rates than others. The implications of this study are that racism is still a very real issue that plagues our judicial system, and the best way to combat this problem is public education of what is at risk and a concerted effort to promote racial diversity on capital juries.