“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.”