Disparities in the administration of capital punishment are a prominent social and political issue. While the focus of death penalty disparity research initially lay with the defendant and how the defendant’s race or ethnicity affects sentencing outcomes, only marginal support for offender effects has been found. A consistent finding, however, is that victim race has a significant effect on capital sentencing outcomes. Recent examinations of the joint effects of victim characteristics indicate that victim gender also has some influence in capital sentencing decisions. While these prior studies have examined the interactive effects of victim gender and victim race the current study proposes that victim-related variables other than race may be important components in understanding the female victim effect. This analysis is focused on understanding the joint effects of victim gender in terms of identifying an “innocent female victim” effect. Based on prior studies and theoretical perspectives, three hypotheses are proposed and tested here using a sub-population of capital cases in North Carolina between the years 1990 and 2007: 1. Cases with a female victim and male defendant will be more likely to result in the death penalty than other defendant-victim gender dyads, 2. Cases with a female victim and stranger defendant will be more likely to result in the death penalty than other dyads, and 3. Cases with a female victim who was not involved in illegal activity at the time of her victimization will be more likely to result in the death penalty than other dyads. The results indicate that victim conduct (illegal activity) and victim gender both play a role in jury sentencing recommendations, but regardless of victim conduct, cases with a female victim are the most likely to result in the death penalty. Therefore, this study finds marginal support for an “innocent female victim” effect in jury decisions to recommend the death penalty, but consistent support for a “female victim” effect. Conclusions and implications of the findings are discussed.

Šiame darbe analizuojamos nusikalstamų veikų daugeto formos ir jų įtaka bausmės skyrimui. Tačiau turint omenyje tai, jog nusikalstamų veikų daugetas ne retai suprantamas skirtingai, o nuo jo priklauso formų išskyrimas, šiame darbe pirmiausia siekiama apibrėžti daugeto sampratą, parodyti jog daugetas nėra vien tik situacijos, kai asmuo padaro kelias nusikalstamas. Siekiant įvertinti daugeto formų įtaką bausmės skyrimui, pirmiausia apžvelgiamos įvairios daugeto teorijos pateikiamos įvairiuose doktrinos šaltiniuose ir pagrindžiamas idealiosios ir realiosio sutapties kaip daugeto formų išskyrimas tiek teorijoje, tiek galiojančiame Lietuvos Respublikos baudžiamajame kodekse. Nors pavienė nusikalstama veika yra nusikalstamų veikų daugeto komponentas, kai kurios pavienės veikos išoriškai yra panašios į daugetą. Dėl to siekiant aiškiai apsibrėžti daugeto formas, šiame darbe pateikiami pavienių tęstinių, trunkamųjų ir sudėtinių nusikalstamų veikų skirtumai nuo jų daugeto, taip pat atskleidžiami jų charakteringi bruožai. Atlikus išsamią šio instituto analizę, darbe plačiai vertinama jo įtaka bausmės skyrimui. Apžvelgiamos tiek pagrindinės bausmių už kelias asmens padarytas nusikalstamas veikas skyrimo sistemos, tiek ir Lietuvos Respublikos baudžiamojo kodekso straipsniuose įtvirtintos taisyklės. Iš esmės atkreiptinas dėmesys, jog konkrečios formos nustatymas asmens padarytų veikų daugete nulemia tai, kokios bausmių bendrinimo taisyklės jo atžvilgiu bus taikomos. Atsižvelgiant į BK... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This thesis provides a detailed analysis of existing forms of multiple criminal acts and their significance the sentencing. Having in mind that the institute of multiple criminal acts is often interpreted in various different ways this work attempts to define this institute as much more complex than a situation when a person commits more than one criminal act. The definition has a major influence in the understanding of different forms of multiple criminal acts, therefore, in order to comprehend the influence of multiple criminal acts to sentencing various theories of multiple criminal acts are discussed in this work. In this discussion the author presents the forms of multiple criminal acts not only from various doctrinal sources but also from the penal code of the Republic of Lithuania. Even though an individual criminal act is a constitutive part of multiple criminal acts, some individual criminal acts are similar to multiple criminal acts. For this reason, in order to define the two forms of multiple criminal acts, the author attempts to provide a solid analysis of those single criminal acts which have similar features to the forms of multiple criminal acts. After this analysis the work depicts a full picture of the influence of the forms’ of multiple acts significance to sentencing according to both the penal code of the Republic of Lithuania and foreign systems of sentencing. The general idea is that the form which is constituted by the offender’s multiple criminal acts... [to full text]

The cognitive and/or behavioural problems associated with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) place this population at increased risk of involvement in the justice system. Although FASD poses challenges at each stage of the justice system, legal discussion and commentary have pinpointed the sentencing stage as the phase in which the issue of FASD is most commonly raised and considered. The purpose of this study is to examine if (and how) FASD is being taking into consideration at sentencing. To this end, a comparative analysis of 87 sentencing judgments (42 FASD offenders and 45 non-FASD offenders) reported in Quicklaw was conducted. Cases were matched on most serious offence (assault, robbery and sexual assault) and jurisdiction (Yukon, British Columbia and Ontario). Descriptions of FASD and non-FASD offenders as reported by judges were found to differ in a number of significant ways. Similarly, sentencing purposes applied to each offender group emerged as distinct. Despite these distinctions, no differences were found in the type and length of sentence handed down (even after controlling for criminal record and breaches). These findings indicate a need for further research and possible policy changes.

My thesis critically examines the role that the U.S. Supreme Court's "death is different" jurisprudence has played in the development of life without parole (LWOP) sentencing.

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abstract: For the death penalty to be justified, it must be reserved for the worst of the worst. In his 2011 study of Connecticut's death penalty system, however, John Donohue found that arbitrariness and discrimination are defining features. Donohue's finding that non-white defendants whose victims were white are six times more likely to receive the death penalty indicates that race is more a predictor of a death sentence than the egregiousness of the crime. An analysis of capital sentencing outcomes in Maricopa County, Arizona reveals that the race of the victim is not related to the likelihood of receiving a death sentence, but the race of the defendant is. Use of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), logistic regression, and an egregiousness calculation are employed to analyze capital sentencing trial outcomes in Maricopa County from 2009 through 2011. This triangulated approach is applied to test three theoretically-derived models - the Donohue model, the Illinois Commission model, and the Functional model. The findings indicate that during the given time period in Maricopa County, the race of the defendant was statistically significant in cases with low to mid-levels of egregiousness, but was no longer significant in the most egregious cases. The results also reveal that the most egregious cases, typically indicated by the presence of a prior conviction and multiple victims, are nearly five times more likely to result in an outcome of death. While the results of this study are suggestive only, because of the small sample size and the relatively brief duration of time studied, the conclusions presented aim to provoke further inquiry into states' death penalty systems to address Donohue's allegation of unconstitutional application nationwide. Through a drastic reduction of death-eligibility factors, implementation of a transparent plea bargaining protocol in which the presence of certain aggravating factors preempts the possibility of a plea, and equal funding for prosecutor and defense offices, the death penalty in this country could begin to target the worst of the worst. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Justice Studies 2012