“Lethal Elections: Gubernatorial Politics and the Timing of Executions,” a study by researchers Jeffrey Kubik and John Moran of Syracuse University, reveals that election-year political considerations may play a role in determining the timing of executions. Their research showed that states are approximately 25% more likely to conduct executions in gubernatorial election years than in other years. The researchers also found that elections have a larger effect on the probability that an African-American defendant will be executed in a given year than on the probability that a white defendant will be executed, and that the overall effect of elections is largest in the South. (46 The Journal of Law & Economics 1 (2003)). See Resources. See DPIC’s Report, “Killing for Votes.”
- Death Penalty Information Center (2025, March 14). NEW RESOURCE: Study Examines Politics and the Death Penalty. Retrieved October 3, 2026, from https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-resource-study-examines-politics-and-the-death-penalty
- Death Penalty Information Center. “NEW RESOURCE: Study Examines Politics and the Death Penalty.” Last modified March 14, 2025. Accessed October 3, 2026. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-resource-study-examines-politics-and-the-death-penalty.
- Death Penalty Information Center. “NEW RESOURCE: Study Examines Politics and the Death Penalty.” Death Penalty Information Center, 14 Mar. 2025, https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-resource-study-examines-politics-and-the-death-penalty. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.