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Citation |
Kent SL. Int. Crim. Justice Rev. 2010; 20(1): 56-72. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2010, Georgia State University, College of Health and Human Sciences, Publisher SAGE Publishing) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
Cross-national research on the determinants of criminal penalties has generally recognized that the amount of crime is an insufficient explanation for the use of punishment. Some research supports conflict explanations, reporting that economic inequality and the presence of ethnic minorities threatens elites who respond by advocating increased punishments largely aimed at minority groups. Other research reports that democratized nations in which citizens enjoy many civil liberties have lower levels of punishment. This study uses event history and logistic analyses to identify the social and political factors that shape the existence of the death penalty in 92 nations over a 23-year period. The results largely support conflict explanations for the existence of this punishment by finding that nations with high-income inequality and large ethnic minority populations have the lowest likelihood of abolition. |