Florida after the furman decision: The effect of extralegal factors on the processing of capital offense cases

This study investigated the existence of discrimination in the imposition of the death penalty in Florida after the Furman decision of 1972. The purpose of the study was to examine the differential effect of the race and sex of the defendant and the victim on the trial outcome, conviction offense and imposition of the death penalty. Differential treatment was apparent in each of the legal events examined. The results indicate that Florida's post-Furman statute has been unsuccessful in eliminating differential treatment of offenders from the imposition of the death penalty.