Legal Disposition of Inter‐Group and Intra‐Group Homicides

A study of the legal treatment of inter-group and intra-group homicides reveals that dispositional decisions are made on the basis of the sex and occupational prestige combinations of offender-victim pairs. Discriminant analysis of data concerning 444 defendants and 432 victims indicates that males accused of slaying females receive the most severe dispositions, while females held in the death of males are noticeably underpenalized. Final convictions are most severe for low status defendants alleged to have murdered high status victims. Contrary to earlier studies, there are no significant differences in legal treatment in terms of the racial combinations of the offender-victim pair. An interpretive approach to the legal process may explain these results: differential processing of homicides depends on the extent to which defendants and victims conform to the popular conception of violent criminality.

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