Ethnicity in verdicts and sentencing: An African-American juror perspective

The discussion about ethnicity and its impact on the various stages in the criminal justice system is gaining popularity. Little literature examines the role of the Black juror. The purpose of this study was to note if ethnicity would impact the verdicts and sentencing recommendations of Black jurors. The study utilized two Chi-Square analyses to test if a relationship existed between the race of a defendant and the verdict given by the Black jurors and between the amount of sentencing and the race of the defendant recommended by the Black jurors. The subjects for this study were 112 Black college students. The findings indicated no relationship was established between the verdicts given and the sentencing recommendations of these Black jurors.