Article
Statistical Difficulties in Determining the Role of Race in Capital Cases: A Re-Analysis of Data from the State of Maryland
Journal of Quantitative Criminology
(2005)
Abstract
In this paper, we re-analyze data used to study the role of race in capital cases in the state of Maryland. We show that when alternative, and arguably more appropriate, statistical procedures are applied, the racial effects reported in early work turn out to be very fragile. The methodological point is more general: conventional causal modeling with observational data is not likely to produce robust results for a variety of criminal justice applications.
Keywords
- Capital punishment -- United States,
- Administration of criminal justice,
- Discrimination in capital punishment -- Statistics -- Analysis,
- African American criminals -- Civil rights
Disciplines
Publication Date
December, 2005
Citation Information
Laura J. Hickman, Richard Berk and Azusa Li. "Statistical Difficulties in Determining the Role of Race in Capital Cases: A Re-Analysis of Data from the State of Maryland" Journal of Quantitative Criminology Vol. 21 Iss. 4 (2005) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/laura_hickman/23/