Research Report Race, Justifiable Homicide, and Stand Your Ground Laws
Subtitle
Analysis of FBI Supplementary Homicide Report Data
John Roman
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This study finds that homicides with a white perpetrator and a black victim are ten times more likely to be ruled justified than cases with a black perpetrator and a white victim, and the gap is larger in states with Stand Your Ground laws. After accounting for a variety of factors, such as whether the victim and perpetrator were strangers, the gap is smaller, but still significant. Cases with a white perpetrator and a black victim are 281 percent more likely to be ruled justified than cases with a white perpetrator and white victim.
Research Areas Crime, justice, and safety Race and equity
Tags Victims of crime Courts and sentencing Racial and ethnic disparities Crime and justice analytics Inequality and mobility Racial and ethnic disparities in criminal justice
Policy Centers Justice Policy Center