Racial Disparities And Capital Sentencing As Perceived By Criminology And Criminal Justice Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the difference of perceptions of criminology and criminal justice (CRCJ) male students in comparison with their female counterparts on possible race factor in death penalty sentencing. The data in this study were obtained from a sample of 100 male and female CRCJ students enrolled in CRCJ courses during the semester of fall 2010 at the University of Texas at Arlington, located in north Texas. The findings in this research suggest that there is a little significant difference of knowledge among both male and female CRCJ students as pertaining to the death penalty, while male respondents seemed to have strong perceptions of racial disparities and capital sentencing.