---
title: 'Race and the Death Penalty in California'
description: 'RACE AND THE DEATH PENALTY IN CALIFORNIA A recent study to be published in the Santa Clara Law Review found that the race of the victim in the underlying…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/race-and-the-death-penalty-in-california'
section: news
date: '2005-09-28T20:04:29-04:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:54:07-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

**RACE AND THE DEATH PENALTY IN CALIFORNIA**  
A recent study to be published in the **Santa Clara Law Review** found that the race of the victim in the underlying murder greatly affected whether a defendant would be sentenced to death.  
**Generally, there are more Hispanic and African American victims of murder in California:**  
--California Murder Victims 1990-1999 - Office of Vital Statistics; based on murders where race of victim was known; Whites, African American, and Other are non-Hispanic members of those races.  
**But in death penalty cases, there are many more white-victim cases than Hispanic or African-American-victim cases:**  
--Victims of murder in California where the defendant was sentenced to death 1990-1999; based on 263 death sentences where there was a single murder victim.  
 **Conclusions from the study**:  
 Although more Hispanics and African Americans are victims of murder in California, white-victim cases are the ones most likely to end in a death sentence:  
- Those who kill non-Latino **whites** are more than **three times** more likely to be sentenced to die as those who kill **African-Americans**.

- Those who kill non-Latino **whites** are more than **four times** more likely to be sentenced to die as those who kill **Latinos**.

- A person convicted of the same crime is more than **three times** more likely to be sentenced to die simply because the crime was committed in a predominantly white, rural community rather than a diverse, urban area.

 G. Pierce & M. Radelet, ["The Impact of Legally Inappropriate Factors on Death Sentencing for California Homicides, 1990-1999,"](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/CaRaceStudy.pdf) 46 Santa Clara Law Review ___ (2005 forthcoming)). See also [Race](../article.php?did=105&scid=5) and [Arbitrariness.](../article.php?did=1328)