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A Broken System: The Persistent Patterns of Reversals of Death Sentences in the United States
Author(s) -
Gelman Andrew,
Liebman James S.,
West Valerie,
Kiss Alexander
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of empirical legal studies
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.529
H-Index - 24
eISSN - 1740-1461
pISSN - 1740-1453
DOI - 10.1111/j.1740-1461.2004.00007.x
Subject(s) - sentence , state (computer science) , psychology , political science , econometrics , economics , computer science , natural language processing , algorithm
We collected data on the appeals process for all death sentences in U.S. states between 1973 and 1995. The reversal rate was high, with an estimated chance of at least two‐thirds that any death sentence would be overturned by a state or federal appeals court. Multilevel regression models fit to the data by state and year indicate that high reversal rates are strongly associated with higher death‐sentencing rates and lower rates of apprehending and imprisoning violent offenders. In light of our empirical findings, we discuss potential remedies including “streamlining” the appeals process and restricting the death penalty to the “worst of the worst” offenders.