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About NADP |
Nebraska's Death Penalty Study
The study responds to the following four questions. In each of these four areas of the research, findings expose serious flaws in the administration of Nebraska's death penalty.
Disparate Treatment
Q: Do prosecutors or sentencing judges, in the exercise of their discretion, treat similarly situated offenders differently on the basis of any illegitimate or suspect factors?
A: Yes. Among all death-eligible cases, defendants whose victims have high socioeconomic status (SES) are 5.6 (.28/.05) times as likely to be sentenced to death than are those whose victims have low SES. (Figure 20, Column C, Amended Final Report, 10/10/01)
Study author David Baldus: "Our conclusion is that this is a classic example of disparate treatment, that is, people are being treated differently on the basis of factors that have nothing whatever to do with their culpability but rather on the socioeconomic status of the victim that they have killed. It's a system-wide influence that exists in both the major urban counties and it exists in greater Nebraska, and you can see it in the decisions of both the prosecutors and the sentencing judges." (Testimony given by study author David Baldus for LR 192, 10/17/01)
Geographic Disparities
Q: Are the rates at which cases advance to a penalty trial uniform throughout the state?
A: No. Over the past sixteen years it has been 2.4 (.57/.24) times more likely for a prosecutor in a major urban county to seek death than it has been for a prosecutor in greater Nebraska. These findings include controls for the severity of the crime. (Figure 13, Part 1, Column C, Amended Final Report, 10/10/01)
Comparative Excessiveness and Inconsistencies Without Regard to Race
Q: Is the death penalty consistently applied to cases that have similar levels of defendant culpability?
A: No. "A number of offenders whose cases did not advance to a penalty trial have levels of criminal culpability that are comparable to the defendants who were sentenced to death." (p107, Amended Final Report). The research defines a death sentence in an individual case as "inconsistent" and "comparatively excessive" if there exist many other cases involving defendants with comparable levels of criminal culpability that result in a life sentence or less. According to the study, only 38% (11) of the death sentenced offenders whose cases advanced to a penalty trial are considered to be evenhanded or comparatively non-excessive because 80% of comparable offenders are also sentenced to death. (Page 108, Amended Final Report, 10/10/01)
The study identifies three death sentenced cases in which the two-thirds (66%) of the comparable offenders received a life sentence or less. These cases are considered to be inconsistent and comparatively excessive. (Page 109, Amended Final Report, 10/10/01) Thirteen cases (45%) are classified in and around the category in which 50% of comparable offenders are sentenced to death. "In assessing consistency, a 50% probability of receiving a death sentence is important because it approximates the outcome of a coin toss." (Page 111, Amended Final Report).
When the universe of cases is expanded to include all death eligible cases, including those that were offered a plea or unilateral waiver of the death penalty, 59% (17/29) of those cases fall into the range that approximates a coin toss. Zero death sentenced offenders out of all death eligible cases fall into the highly selective category in which 80% of similar offenders are sentenced to death. 52% of death sentenced cases, out of all death eligible offenders, are classified in categories in which fewer than 50% of comparable offenders are sentenced to death. (Page 110-111 and figure 25, Amended Final Report, 10/10/01)
Adverse Disparate Impact on Minorities Statewide
Q: Does evenhanded application of any facially neutral policy disadvantage a particular group?
A: Yes. In the discussion of adverse disparate impact Baldus says, "Here, in my judgement, there is no dispute about the facts. It is clear that minorities are more likely to have their cases advance to a penalty trial and less likely to have a plea bargain than are whites." (Presentation of study findings, UNL College of Law, 8/7/01) Prosecutors are less willing to engage in plea-bargaining and to waive the death penalty in the major urban areas where 90% of the prosecutions against minorities take place. The disparity is a product of prosecutorial discretion. (Also see Figure 13.1, Part 2, Row 1, Column B, Amended Final Report, 10/10/01)
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You will need Adobe's free Acrobat Reader to view the Amended Final Report, Tables, Figures, and Appendix. |
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Figures: 4, 5, 6, 7, 7 footnote, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 16 footnote, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 21 footnote, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26
