Understanding Processes that Produce Racial Disparities in California Death Sentences: A Review of the Literature

A robust and extensive body of empirical research, and a rich historical record, documents a recurring and pervasive influence of race in the application of California’s death penalty. This article reviews the legal and social science research to document multiple paths through which institutions and processes produce these racial disparities over many decisions in many cases across four decades. The article reviews relevant literature by decision, institution, or actor and presents key findings. This includes documenting the history of the broad statutory design of the California capital punishment statue. The review also considers research on policing, including the influence of race on the supply of capital-eligible cases. Finally, the article collects research on racialized decision making by prosecutors, defense counsel, juries, and judges. This examination of the literature provides a necessary foundation for meaningful reform. The California Racial Justice Act presents new statutory mechanisms to mitigate the persistent legacy of systematic racially infected decision making. This review underlines the importance of this reform and renews constitutional concerns about the breadth and application of the California statute.