Racial and Gender Threat and the Death Penalty: A County-Level Examination of Sociopolitical Factors Influencing Death Sentences

This study traces the local phenomenon of the death penalty in the United States, finding that both race and gender factors are key indicators of death sentences within communities. Based on the socio-political context of each region, it suggests that counties with Black populations greater than the state median experience increases in all death sentences, while gender equality in education holds a remedial effect on death penalty application.  Ultimately, the study demonstrates that the persistence of extralegal factors, particularly racial bias, contributing to death sentencing is evidence that these relationships must be recognized and factored into research and administration of capital sentencing.