Examining the Sentence of Life without Parole in Kentucky Homicide Cases

Abstract

This study examines the issue of prosecutorial discretion and the decision to offer a plea of life without parole (LWOP) in Kentucky death-eligible homicide cases (2000–2016). Using focal concerns theory as a framework and propensity score matching (PSM) and logistic regression as the methods of analysis, it attempts to explain the factors influencing prosecutorial discretion in the decision to grant a plea for LWOP with an emphasis on the role of race and gender or the victim and offender in this process. Among similarly situated cases, black offenders convicted of killing a white victim and those cases featuring a female victim were significantly more likely to receive a sentence of life without parole. Within the context of LWOP sentencing, the blameworthiness of a case was more significant than factors measuring the protection of the community.

Keywords:

• Life without parole
• sentencing

Acknowledgments

We thank one reviewer for the suggestion of splitting the different categories of sentencing and performing a multinomial logistic regression. Our issue with this suggestion is that statistical power with the different categories would be problematic. We decided to leave the sentencing as a binary measure of LWOP vs. non-LWOP. This way we could preserve the statistical power and provide a fruitful analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 However, Kentucky’s Truth in Sentencing Act can result in a longer sentence than LWOP + 25. Under this sanction, offenders can be sentenced for terms resulting in a parole eligibility date of longer than 25 years (Wright, 1990, p. 551). Truth in Sentencing laws were enacted due to the perception offenders served less time than designated by their sentences due to parole board leniency (Berry, 2015, pp. 1056–57).

2 This study was limited to two focal concerns (blameworthiness and protection of the community) due to limitations in the official data set. The authors did not collect these data. The data included: county, aggravating circumstances, whether the death penalty was sought, type of conviction (jury or plea), and limited demographics: sex and race of victim, sex and race of the offender, and whether the sentence was LWOP or not.

3 The frequency count for the combined total number of cases resulting in a sentence of life without parole was 190 [because of a plea – 143 (75.3%); and sentenced by the jury – 47 (24.7%)]. These cases were all eligible for the death penalty – an aggravating circumstance was present, and the prosecution sought the death penalty in over 85 percent of these cases.

4 Due to collinearity issues with running the analyses in STATA the variable Black defendant kills Black victim was not possible. Yet, these cases are included in the other three variables in the reference category.

5 The number of death eligible cases included in this analysis was 178.