Citation

McCaffree K, Saide A, Shermer M. J. Ethn. Crim. Justice 2020; 18(1): 72-94.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/15377938.2019.1693466

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

We consider here whether African-Americans executed on death row in Texas are consequently (a) more likely to have committed economically-motivated secondary crimes during the commission of homicide/attempted homicide, and whether these inmates were (b) less likely to express being sorry in their final statements before execution. Our study revealed support for the following hypothesized patterns: Caucasian offenders used a greater number of sorry-related words in their last statements, on average, compared with African-American offenders. In addition, homicides/attempted homicides committed by African-Americans were significantly more likely to have included a secondary economically-motivated crime (e.g., robbery). Subsequent analyses revealed that offender race significantly mediated the effects of economic secondary crime commission and "emotional intensity" on expressed sorrow in final statements.

Language: en

Keywords

anomie; conflict theory; death penalty; emotion; Race; strain; Texas