This analysis examines Kentucky murders between 1976 and 1986. Special attention is given to the manner in which these homicides vary by age of victim. Multiva riate analysis considers the seriousness of homicides. Causal models are formulated for murders featuring juvenile and elderly victims. Overall, the homicide severity was linked to both legal and social factors. In particular, homicides featuring elderly victims and those with juvenile victims were determined to be especially serious.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Arkin, S.D. (1980). Discrimination and Arbitariness in Capital Punishment : an Analysis of Post-Furman Murder Cases in Dade County,Florida, 1973 - 1976Stanford Law Review, 33, 75-101.
2.
Baldus, D.C., Pulaski, C., and Woodworth, G. (1983). Comparative Review of Death Sentences: an Empirical Study of the Georgia Experience. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 74, 661-753.
3.
Bedau, H.A. (1987). Death is Different. Boston : Northeastern University Press.
4.
Becker, H. (1963). The Outsiders. New York: The Free Press ofGlencoe.
5.
Bienin, L.B., Weiner, N.A., Denno, D.W., Allison, P.D., and Mills, D.L. (1988). The Reimposition of Capital Punishment in New Jersey: The Role of Prosecutorial Discretion. Rutgers Law Review, 41, 27-372.
6.
Black, D. (1976). The Behavior of Law. New York : Academic Press.
7.
Bollen, K.A. (1989). Structural Equations With Latent Variables. New York: John Wiley and Sons.
8.
Bowers, W.J. and Pierce, G.L. (1980). Arbitrariness and Discrimination Under Post-Furman Capital Statutes. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology , 74, 1067-1100.
9.
Cheatwood, D., and Block, K.J. (1990). Youth and Homicide: An Investigation of the Age Factor in Criminal Homicide. Justice Quarterly, 7, 265-292.
10.
Erikson, K.T. (1966). Wayward Puritans. New York : Wiley.
11.
Felson, M. (1987). Routine Activities and Crime Prevention in the Developing Metropolis. Criminology, 25, 911-931.
12.
Fiala, R. and LaFree, G. (1988). Cross-national Determinants of Child Homicide . American Sociological Review, 53, 432-445.
13.
Fox, J.A. and Levin, J. (1991). Homicide Against the Elderly: A Research Note . Criminology, 29, 317-327.
14.
Garfinkle, H. (1949). Research Note on Inter- and Inta-racial Homicides . Social Forces, 17, 369-381.
15.
Gartner, R. (1990). The Victims of Homicide: A Temporal and Cross-national Comparison. American Sociological Review, 55, 92-106.
16.
Gross, S.R. and Mauro, R. (1984). Patterns of Death: an Analysis of Racial Disparities in Capital Sentencing and Homicide Victimization. Stanford Law Review, 37,17-153.
17.
Johnson, G.B. (1941). The Negro and Crime. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 217, 93-104.
18.
Joreskog, K.G. and Sorbom, D. (1989). LISREL 7: User's Reference Guide. Mooresville, IN: Scientific Software, Inc.
19.
Keil, T.J. and Vito, G.F. (1990). Race and the Death Penalty in Kentucky Murder Trials: an Analysis of Post-Gregg Outcomes. Justice Quarterly , 7, 189-207.
20.
Keil, T.J., and Vito, G.F. (1989). Race Homicide Severity, and the Application of the Death Penalty: A Consideration of the Barnett scale. Criminology, 27, 511-536.
21.
Kennedy, L.W., and Silverman, R.A. (1990). The Elderly Victim of Homicide: An Application of the Routine Activities Approach. The Sociological Quarterly , 31, 307-319.
22.
Kleck, G. (1981). Racial Discrimination in Criminal Sentencing. American Sociological Review, 46, 783-804.
23.
Legislative Research Commission (1985). Capital Punishment. Frankfort, KY: Research Report No. 218.
24.
Lemert, E. (1951). Social Pathology. New York : McGraw-Hill.
25.
Lewis, P.W. (1978). Lifeon Death Row: aPost-Furman Profile of Florida's Condemned. In P.W. Lewis and K.D. Peoples (eds.), The Supreme Court and the Criminal Process-Cases and Comments (pp. 939 - 951). Philadelphia : W. B.Saunders.
26.
Matza, D. (1969). Becoming Deviant. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice-Hall.
27.
Miethe, T.D., Stafford, M.C., and Long, J.S. (1987). Social Differentiation in Criminal Victimization: A Test of Routine Activities/Lifestyle Theories. American Sociological Review, 52, 184-194.
28.
Nakell, B. and Hardy, K.A. (1987). The Arbitrariness of the Death Penalty. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
29.
Paternoster, R. (1983). Race of the Victim and Location of Crime: the Decision to Seek the Death Penalty in South Carolina. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 74, 754-785.
30.
Peterson, R.D. and Hagan, J. (1984). Changing Conceptions of Race and Sentencing Outcomes . American Sociological Review, 49, 56-70.
31.
Radelet, M.L. (1981). Racial Characteristics and the Imposition of the Death Penalty. American Sociological Review, 19, 587-621.
32.
Riedel, M. (1976). Discrimination in the Imposition of the Death Penalty: a Comparison of the Characteristics of Offenders Sentenced Pre-Furman and Post-Furman. Temple Law Quarterly, 19, 261-283.
33.
Schur, E.M. (1971). Labeling Deviant Behavior: Its Sociological Implications . New York: Harper and Row.
34.
Silverman, R.A., Riedel, M., and Kennedy, L.W. (1990). Murdered Children: A Comparison of Racial Differences Across Two Jurisdictions. Journal of Criminal Justice, 18, 401-416.
35.
Smith, M.D. (1987). Patterns of Discrimination in Assessments of the Death Penalty: the Case of Louisiana. Journal of Criminal Justice, 15, 279-286.
36.
Swigert, V.L. and Farrell, R.A. (1977). Normal Homicides and the Law. American Sociological Review, 42, 16-31.
37.
Vito, G.F. and Keil, T.J. (1988). Capital Sentencing in Kentucky: an Analysis of Factors Influencing Decision-making in the Post-Gregg Period. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 79, 483-503.
38.
Wolfgang, M.E., Figlio, R.M., Tracy, P.E., and Singer, S.I. (1985). The National Survey of Crime Severity. Washington, DC: U.S. Govern ment Printing Office.
39.
Wolfgang, M.E., Kelly, A. and Nolde, H. (1962). Comparisons of the Executed and the Commuted Among Admissions to Death Row. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology , 53, 301-310.
40.
Wolfgang, M.E. and Riedel, M. (1973). Race, Judicial Discretion, and the Death Penalty. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 407, 119-133.
41.
Zeisel, H. (1981). Race Bias in the Administration of the Death Penalty: the Florida Experience. Harvard Law Review, 95, 456-468.
42.
Zimring, F.E., Eigen, J. and O'Malley, S. (1976). Punishing Homicides in Philadelphia: Perspectives on the Death Penalty. University of Chicago Law Review, 43, 227-252.
