The University of Chicago Law School’s Journal of Law and Economics features an article by researchers Jeffrey Kubik and John Moran examining the relationship between politics and executions. In their article, Lethal Elections: Gubernatorial Politics and the Timing of Executions, Kubik and Moran found that states are about 25% more likely to conduct executions in gubernatorial election years than in other years. They also found that the effect of elections on executions is more pronounced for African-American defendants than for white defendants and is larger in the South than in other areas of the country. (46 Journal of Law and Economics 1 (2003)) See Law Reviews.
Citation Guide
- Death Penalty Information Center (2025, March 14). NEW RESOURCE: Gubernatorial Politics and Executions. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-resource-gubernatorial-politics-and-executions
- Death Penalty Information Center. “NEW RESOURCE: Gubernatorial Politics and Executions.” Last modified March 14, 2025. Accessed October 2, 2026. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-resource-gubernatorial-politics-and-executions.
- Death Penalty Information Center. “NEW RESOURCE: Gubernatorial Politics and Executions.” Death Penalty Information Center, 14 Mar. 2025, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-resource-gubernatorial-politics-and-executions. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.