The Prison Journal, Ahead of Print.
This study examines the administration of capital punishment in Kentucky. Comparing execution and death to life commutation cases from 1901–2019, we consider the purpose of the commutation process and its utilization considering offender-victim relationships and the severity of the homicide as determined by the Barnett Scale. While a higher score on the Barnett Scale predicted execution, there remained a pattern of racial discrimination between the two decisions.