Citation

French LA. Behav. Sci. Law 1987; 5(4): 423-432.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1987, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/bsl.2370050406

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Capital punishment represents a sociolegal dilemma in the United States. While there is seemingly popular support in the country for the death penalty, a clear discriminatory bias exists challenging the foundation of American justice-that of fair treatment before the law. A review of sentencing practices and executions indicates major regional (south/non-south) differences regarding the proportion of executions in terms of both numbers and race. This social process is explained in terms of societal reaction/boundary maintenance model. One means of avoiding these regional biases and to ensure a more objective adjudication process would be to make capital crimes a federal offense.

Language: en