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SAGE Journal User Guide

Girgenti, A. A. (2015). The Intersection of Victim Race and Gender: The ‘‘Black Male Victim Effect’’ and the Death Penalty. Race and Justice: 1-23.

Question to consider:

1. Based on the article, what is your understanding toward “race” and “gender”?
2. Between race and gender, which is more likely to influence jury decision making in capital cases?
3. What is the “Black male victim effect” referred to in the article?

Olney, M., & Bonn, S. (2015). An Exploratory Study of the Legal and Non-Legal Factors Associated With Exoneration for Wrongful Conviction: The Power of DNA Evidence. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 26(4): 400-420.

Question to consider:

1. Why is the research on wrongful conviction important? What does wrongful conviction mean to the “criminal processing system”?
2. What may cause wrongful convictions? How can DNA aid in exoneration efforts?
3. Compared to the narrative process of law, what advantages do DNA tests have? Are there any flaws in DNA evidence?

Kaplan, P., Dunn, K., & Sherman, N. (2015). Localism and Capital Judicial Override in Jefferson County, Alabama. Race and Justice: 1-21.

Question to consider:

1. What is “localism”? How does it present a problem?
2. How does Liebman and Clarke’s Theory of Parochialism and Libertarianism explain death sentences?
3. Describe the following five forms of localism: (1) rejection of the concept of mitigation, (2) rejection of scientific knowledge of social influences on human behavior, (3) belief in individual autonomy, (4) characterization of jurors as tricked by outsider defense attorneys, and (5) fear of dangerous outsiders.