Sandra Babcock, Nathalie Greenfield and Kathryn Adamson

This article presents a comprehensive study of 48 persons sentenced to death between 1990 and 2023 who presented as women at the time of their trials. Our research is the first of its kind to conduct a holistic and intersectional analysis of the factors driving women’s death sentences. It reveals commonalities across women’s cases, delving into their experiences of motherhood, gender-based violence and prior involvement with the criminal legal system. We also explore the nature of the women’s crimes of conviction, including the role of male co-defendants and the State’s use of aggravating factors. Finally, we reveal for the first time the extent to which capital prosecutions are dominated by men—including judges, elected District Attorneys, defense attorneys, and juror forepersons—and explain why gender matters in determining who lives and who dies.

We present our data against the backdrop of prevalent theories that seek to explain both the rarity of women’s executions and the reasons why certain women are singled out for the harshest punishment provided by law. We explain why those frameworks are inadequate to understand the role that systemic gender bias plays in women’s capital prosecutions. We conclude by arguing for more nuanced research that embraces the complexities in women’s capital cases and accounts for the presence of systemic and intersectional discrimination.

Cardozo Law Review, Forthcoming (Written April, 2024}.

By Valerie A. Clark and Grant Duwe

Research from the past few decades has highlighted the long- and wide-reaching effects of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). These experiences can negatively affect mental and physical health, as well as behaviors and interpersonal relationships well into adulthood. While it is generally understood that ACEs are prevalent in correctional populations, no prior studies have measured this issue using a large representative and racially and ethnically diverse sample of both male and female adult correctional populations in the United States. The data used for this study were collected via an assessment administered to more than 2,100 adults in Minnesota’s prison system. Descriptive findings revealed that multiple and varied forms of ACEs were common in the histories of this state’s incarcerated population, particularly among females and incarcerated persons who identified as Black, White/non-Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan Native. The multivariate results revealed that past exposure to ACEs increased the likelihood and speed of disciplinary convictions after admission to prison for males, but not for females. Overall, the results underscored the importance of assessing for responsivity factors upon admission to prison, including ACEs.

St. Paul, Minnesota: Minnesota Department of Corrections, 2024. 35p.