Statistics on the Death Penalty

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the scientific and statistical validity of a series of studies that present statistical information on some aspect of the death penalty. It examines methods for excluding jurors in death penalty cases, connections between the death penalty and homicide rates, the link between religion, race and support for the death penalty and links between crime rate increases and the death penalty. The paper discusses the statistical strengths and weaknesses that affect the validity of the studies.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
Neises & Dilehay: "Death Qualification and Conviction Proneness"
Baumer, Messner & Rosenfeld: "Explaining Spatial Variation in Support for Capital Punishment"
Young: "Religious Orientation, Race and Support for the Death Penalty"
Rankin: "Changing Attitudes Toward Capital Punishment"

From the Paper:

"Despite that honesty, there are further issues that Rankin fails to point out. For instance, the data gathered by the NORC was gathered over a period of four years. While this might seem like a lengthy period, it may not be long enough to identify large-scale social trends of the kind that this study hopes to identify. Additionally, Rankin puts a significant emphasis on who respondents voted for in presidential elections as a means of gauging their political party, political views, and general lifestyle concerns. Unfortunately, this may not be the best indicator of any of those factors. These concerns limit the effectiveness of this research."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Baumer, Eric P., Messner, Steven F., and Rosenfeld, Richard. "Explaining Spatial Variation in Support for Capital Punishment: A Multilevel Analysis." American Jounral of Sociology 108.4 (Jan. 2003): 844-875.
• Neises, Michael L. and Dillehay, Ronald C. "Death Qualification and Conviction Proneness: Witt and Witherspoon Compared." Behavioral Sciences & the Law 5.4 (Autumn 1987): 479-494.
• Rankin, Joseph H. "Changing Attitudes toward Capital Punishment." Social Forces 58.1 (Sept. 1979): 194-211.
• Young Robert L. "Religious Orientation, Race and Support for the Death Penalty." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 31.1 (Mar. 1992): 76-87.

More papers on Statistics on the Death Penalty:

• Analytical Essay # 130809 : "Scientific Validity of Statistical Papers on the Death Penalty"
• Term Paper # 148800 : "Arguments on the Death Penalty"
• Argumentative Essay # 3616 : "The Ineffectiveness of the Death Penalty"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: