Does race and age affect death sentencing?
Indiana Study:
The subjects in this study were Indiana residents from the years between 1977-2013 present. Since that time, there have been 96 people who have been put on death row with 12 people on it currently; because this is a study done there were no treatments imposed or response variables. Because this was more of an observation and collection of data points that culminated over the years, there were no flaws in design and concerns for the study. It did not take a sampling, and instead took every instance into account, so no SRS. Since it's comprehensive, i.e. the sample studied is the entire population, there was no issue with it.
This two-way table shows the amount of people in Indiana who were sentenced to death row from 1977-2013 and were killed. We took 30 sample points, researched their age and race, and calculated the amount of people under each of the categories. The highest group found in death row were white males, between the ages of 40-49. We also found that murderers who killed white male victims had a higher probability of being sentenced to death row. Sample size n=30
Right: African American prisoners on Indiana's death row during 1977-present
Left: Caucasian prisoners during same timeframe
Complement: prisoners on death row who are neither African American nor Caucasian in race
Intersection: Prisoners of both African American and Caucasian heritage
Left: Caucasian prisoners during same timeframe
Complement: prisoners on death row who are neither African American nor Caucasian in race
Intersection: Prisoners of both African American and Caucasian heritage
This image shows executions by state and amount of people in death row in different counties over time:
There is a 17/30 chance that prisoners on death row in Indiana will be white, and male. More specifically there is an 18/30 chance that those prisoners will be in their forties and white, male. We found no females on death row that were reported in our source and only three black males on death row, all in their forties as well.
Source: http://www.in.gov/ipdc/general/indianadpfactsheet.pdfhttp://i.huffpost.com/gen/1400943/thumbs/o-DEATH-ROW-facebook.jpg
Source: http://www.in.gov/ipdc/general/indianadpfactsheet.pdfhttp://i.huffpost.com/gen/1400943/thumbs/o-DEATH-ROW-facebook.jpg
The Stanford Prison Experiment
What happens when you put good people in an evil place? Does humanity win over evil, or does evil triumph? These were the questions asked by the people conducting the experiment, but for our purposes, we want to see if race and age will affect treatment and punishment.
Sampling Method: Non-probability sampling, (a small group or case study, used to study complex social phenomena). This sort of sampling is really only effective when doing studies like this, but we have to be cautious about generalizing these results to the broader population.
Sample size was large enough, and met CLT
Subject/experimental units: college students who chose to participate; these people were divided into two groups: prison guards and prisoners that were chosen randomly according to a coin.
Treatments: there were no clear and concise treatments that could be seen as in a medical experiment; perhaps the way that the prisoners were treated by the guards (i.e strip searches, push-ups, unreasonable rules) could be considered an imposed factor
Response Variable: By the end of the experiment, which only lasted six days of the two intended weeks that were allotted, prisoners suffered "severe emotional or cognitive reactions" (half of the original amount opted to discontinue the experiment) and guards were described as having "abusive guard behavior" during the duration of the experiment. None of the guards opted to discontinue the experiment.
Explanatory Variables: As the guards were given little to no training and put in a position of high authority with little limitations, they began to use and abuse their power more often in order to keep themselves safe; prisoners were repeatedly punished and humiliated in front of one another. As a result, it is understandable that guards, being in a position of power, would not consider leaving the experiment whereas prisoners, put in a much vulnerable position, would suffer emotional and cognitive damage as well as temporary physical damage.
Experimental Design: There were 24 males who volunteered to do the experiment; they were divided into two groups of prisoners and guards via coin flip. The prisoners were arrested by the Palo Alto police and brought into the prison cells set up where they would stay for 24 hours and the guards would shift in fours for three hour shifts. It was in these cells that guards would exert their power and prisoners would have to follow daily life.
Blocks and Blinding: There was none in this experiment.
Ethical concerns with experiment: There were ethical concerns with this experiment because the prisoners were treated so poorly and harshly; this experiment was found by many in the general public to be unethical and such an experiment has never been duplicated.
Conclusions: Conclusions drawn from this experiment are that people put in a position of power will likely abuse it (but we again have to consider the circumstances surrounding the selection of the participants and how that may influence the results.)
Sources: www.in.gov/ipdc/general/indianadpfactsheet.pdf
http://www.prisonexp.org/
Sampling Method: Non-probability sampling, (a small group or case study, used to study complex social phenomena). This sort of sampling is really only effective when doing studies like this, but we have to be cautious about generalizing these results to the broader population.
Sample size was large enough, and met CLT
Subject/experimental units: college students who chose to participate; these people were divided into two groups: prison guards and prisoners that were chosen randomly according to a coin.
Treatments: there were no clear and concise treatments that could be seen as in a medical experiment; perhaps the way that the prisoners were treated by the guards (i.e strip searches, push-ups, unreasonable rules) could be considered an imposed factor
Response Variable: By the end of the experiment, which only lasted six days of the two intended weeks that were allotted, prisoners suffered "severe emotional or cognitive reactions" (half of the original amount opted to discontinue the experiment) and guards were described as having "abusive guard behavior" during the duration of the experiment. None of the guards opted to discontinue the experiment.
Explanatory Variables: As the guards were given little to no training and put in a position of high authority with little limitations, they began to use and abuse their power more often in order to keep themselves safe; prisoners were repeatedly punished and humiliated in front of one another. As a result, it is understandable that guards, being in a position of power, would not consider leaving the experiment whereas prisoners, put in a much vulnerable position, would suffer emotional and cognitive damage as well as temporary physical damage.
Experimental Design: There were 24 males who volunteered to do the experiment; they were divided into two groups of prisoners and guards via coin flip. The prisoners were arrested by the Palo Alto police and brought into the prison cells set up where they would stay for 24 hours and the guards would shift in fours for three hour shifts. It was in these cells that guards would exert their power and prisoners would have to follow daily life.
Blocks and Blinding: There was none in this experiment.
Ethical concerns with experiment: There were ethical concerns with this experiment because the prisoners were treated so poorly and harshly; this experiment was found by many in the general public to be unethical and such an experiment has never been duplicated.
Conclusions: Conclusions drawn from this experiment are that people put in a position of power will likely abuse it (but we again have to consider the circumstances surrounding the selection of the participants and how that may influence the results.)
Sources: www.in.gov/ipdc/general/indianadpfactsheet.pdf
http://www.prisonexp.org/