Empathy, distance, and blame: juror perceptions of black male homicide victims in capital cases

Abstract

The courts have consistently struggled with the discriminatory imposition of the death penalty. This research employs data from the Capital Jury Project which seeks to identify arbitrariness in jurors’ decision-making. Results indicate that Black male victims are perceived to be the most likely to have a problem with drugs/alcohol and come from poor/deprived backgrounds and the least likely to be respected in the community and be perceived as innocent. Black male victims and their families also receive the least empathy from jurors, whom jurors feel the most distance from, and who are most to blame for their victimization. Results suggest the enduring racialization of violent crime and the continuing devaluation of the lives of Black males in American society.

Keywords:

• Juror decision-making
• Capital Jury Project
• victim race
• victim gender

Notes

1 This paper has been modified and reproduced from the author's dissertation work.

2 In a 7-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court found purposeful discrimination on the part of the prosecution by striking all four of the qualified black jurors from the jury in violation of standards outlined by Batson v. Kentucky (1986).

3 In a 6-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court found that Buck received inadequate assistance of counsel because his defense attorney introduced evidence that Buck was likely to be a future danger because of his race. Dr. Quijano's report stated that Buck was statistically more likely to act violently because he is Black (Buck v. Davis, 2017).

4 Death qualification refers to the process of excluding potential jurors from participation in capital trials solely on the basis of their attitudes about the death penalty (Haney, Hurtado, & Vega, 1994).

5 Justice Powell retired from the Court in June 1987. When his biographer asked if he would change his vote in any case, Justice Powell responded “Yes, McCleskey v. Kemp.” He continued to state that he would vote differently in any capital case because he had “come to think that capital punishment should be abolished” (Gross, 2012).

6 For a list of all Capital Jury Project publications please visit http://www.albany.edu/scj/13192.php.

7 Dr. William J. Bowers passed away in February 2017. His work has had a profound impact on death penalty scholarship for decades. I am indebted to him for his constant support, mentorship, and tenacity.

8 Kimberle' Crenshaw, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the African American Policy Forum, launched the #SayHerName campaign to draw attention to police violence against Black women. Black women are often invisible in media representations of victims of police brutality. The deaths of Alberta Spruill, Rekia Boyd, Shantel Davis, Shelley Frey, Kayla Moore, Kyam Livingston, Miriam Carey, Michelle Cusseaux, and Tanisha Anderson are also essential in understanding how perceptions of Black criminality have real-world, tragic consequences. Future research on the death penalty should place a greater emphasis on Black females as victims in capital cases to determine whether the effects of gendered aggravators are similar for both White female and Black female victims.