---
title: 'NEW RESOURCE: Study Examines Politics and the Death Penalty'
description: '“Lethal Elections: Gubernatorial Politics and the Timing of Executions,” a study by researchers Jeffrey Kubik and John Moran of Syracuse University…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/new-resource-study-examines-politics-and-the-death-penalty'
section: news
date: '2003-09-04T15:30:50-04:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:23:21-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

"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](/getcat.php?cid=5). See DPIC's Report, "[Killing for Votes](/article.php?scid=45&did=260)."