Procedural Reform of Jury Murder Convictions in Georgia, 1970-1978

Principal Investigator(s): Baldus, David C.; Woodworth, George; Pulaski, Charles A. Jr.

Summary:

The purpose of this data collection was to assess the impact of the 1973 reforms of the death penalty laws on the levels of arbitrariness and discrimination in capital sentencing in Georgia. The data cover two different periods corresponding to the periods before and after the reform: 1970-1972 and 1973-1978. Numerous measures of defendant blameworthiness were developed as a basis for assessing levels of arbitrariness and discrimination in Georgia's capital charging and sentencing system. Specific variables include race, sex, current offense, prior conviction and arrests, method of killing, and number of victims.

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These data are freely available.

DS1: Dataset

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Codebook.pdf (card_image)

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DS2: SAS Control Cards

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DS3: SAS Variable Names

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DS4: SAS Recoded Variables

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DS5: SAS Recoded Variables for Use in Statistical Analysis

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Baldus, David C., George Woodworth, and Charles A. Pulaski, Jr. PROCEDURAL REFORM OF JURY MURDER CONVICTIONS IN GEORGIA, 1970-1978. 2nd ICPSR release. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa College of Law [producer], 1981. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 1990. doi:10.3886/ICPSR09265.v2

Persistent URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR09265.v2

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This survey was funded by:

United States Department of Justice. Office of Justice Programs. National Institute of Justice (80-JJ-CX-0035)

Subject Terms: capital punishment, discrimination, sentencing, sentencing reforms

Geographic Coverage: Georgia, United States

Universe: All defendants convicted of murder at trial during 1973-1978, and for 1970-1972 all death cases plus life-sentence cases that resulted in a murder trial conviction in Georgia.

Data Types: survey data, and event/transaction data

Sample: Nonprobability sample for 1970-1972 and all cases (death and life sentence) convicted of murder at trial from 1973 to 1978.

Data Source:

Records of the Georgia Supreme Court, Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, Georgia Department of Offender Rehabilitation, Georgia Bureau of Vital Statistics, and Georgia Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys

Original ICPSR Release: 1989-12-15

1983

Pulaski, Charles A., Jr., Woodworth, George, Baldus, David C. Comparative review of death sentences: An empirical study of the Georgia experience. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. 74, (3), 661-753.

1986

Baldus, David C., Woodworth, George, Pulaski, Charles A. Arbitrariness and discrimination in the administration of the death penalty: A challenge to state supreme courts. Stetson Law Review. 15, 133 -

1990

Baldus, David C., Woodworth, George, Pulaski, Charles A. Equal Justice and the Death Penalty: A Legal and Empirical Analysis. Boston: Northeastern University Press.

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