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More Coverage of Phillips' Scholarship

By Steve Hall

UPI today posts, "Some victims matter more than others," on its wire.A study of a Texas county found a defendant is much more likely to be sentenced to death if he or she kills a so-called high-status victim, researchers said. Scott Phillips, associate professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Denver, said recent discussions of the death penalty tend to focus on innocence and cost, but arbitrariness has long been a concern. The study, published in Law and Society Review, found the probability of being sentenced to death is much greater if a defendant kills a white or Hispanic victim who is married with a clean criminal record and a college degree, as opposed to a black or Asian victim who is single with a prior criminal record and no college degree...continue to full post

Full post as published by StandDown Texas Project on March 08, 2010 (boomark / email).