Looking Deathworty - Eberhadt

Question 1

Aim of Eberhadt

Answer 1

To see if black offenders with stereotypically black features were more likely to get the death sentence than offenders

Question 2

Method of Eberhadt

Answer 2

Lab experiment

Question 3

Procedure of Eberhadt

Answer 3

Analysis of database of death-eligible cases in Philadelphia that advanced to penalty between 79 to 99.
- 44 cases black man murdered white victim

• Photos shown to raters = 51 from Stanford Uni (32 white 15 Asian)
• Black & white photos shown for 4 seconds
• Ask to use their facial features to give them a rating between 1 to 11. 11 is very stereotypical

Question 4

Results of Eberhadt

Answer 4

Analysis of covariance allowed researchers to input many different variables to test for their effects on sentencing decisions like:

• Severity of murder
• Socio economic status of victim
• Defendant
• Defendant attractiveness
• Most stereotypically black defendants = 57.5% more likely to receive death penalty
• Least stereotypically black defendants = 24.4% more likely

2nd study: Black defendant, black victim
- Same analysis produced no significant effect. Suggests black victim is seen as less important