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Quantifying the "Worst of the Worst" in Alabama

By Douglas A. Berman

I just came across this interesting looking empirical piece by Jennifer Leigh Adger, which is titled "Quantifying the ?Worst of the Worst?: Victim, Offender and Crime Characteristics Contributing to ?Heinous, Atrocious, or Cruel? Findings in Alabama." Here is the abstract: This study focuses on capital sentencing in Alabama.  Specifically, it will attempt to identify characteristics of homicides that distinguish cases with ?heinous, atrocious, and cruel? (HAC) findings from those homicides that do not have this finding.  Critics of HAC assert that it lacks a clear statutory definition, and is, as a result, particularly vulnerable to being applied inconsistently. HAC is found in approximately forty percent of the cases in which an individual is sentenced to death in Alabama and is one of the most highly litigated aggravating circumstances across the country...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on August 31, 2010 (boomark / email).