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Tracking Capital Homicide Cases in Jefferson County, KY 2000–2010

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Abstract

In 1998, Kentucky’s adopted the Racial Justice Act (RJA). The key sponsor of the law, Kentucky Senator Gerald Neal asserted that it was not a result of whether you were for or against the death penalty but “whether the death penalty should be subject to the same standards of nondiscrimination as any other institution in our state.” However, one noted negative effect of the RJA is that prosecutors have adopted policies to seek the death penalty in every eligible case, rather than making this decision on a case-by-case basis. This study examines the outcome of such policies in Jefferson County, Kentucky from 2000 to 2010.

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Notes

  1. There were two related reasons for this procedure. It was made in response to the findings of racial bias present in capital sentencing in Kentucky by Vito and Keil. In turn, this research informed the proposal and passage of the Kentucky Racial Justice Act on February 9, 1998 (See Neal, 2004; Vito, 2010). By seeking the death penalty in every eligible case, the Jefferson County Prosecutors insured that race would not be a factor in capital sentencing. Of course, this decision also increased the number of capital cases sought.

  2. Noble represented himself during the trial. He died on Kentucky’s death row in 2007 (Riley, 2013a, b, p. A8).

  3. 12 individuals were acquitted but three defendants were part of the same case.

  4. Benis was offered a plea bargain in return for his testimony against his co-defendant Jeffery Mundt. Banis was convicted of murdering James Carroll. The defendants and victim watched pornography, had sex and did drugs in mid-December of 2009. Mundt and Banis decided to rob and kill Carroll. They covered Carroll’s body with lime, broke his knees with a sledgehammer, stuffed his body into a 50 gal plastic container and buried it in their basement. Six months later, both men told police who were answering a domestic disturbance call that Carroll was buried in their basement (Riley, Banis Spared Death Penalty, 2013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Justice Administration, University of Louisville, Louisville, USA

    Gennaro F. Vito, George E. Higgins & Anthony G. Vito

Authors
  1. Gennaro F. Vito
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  2. George E. Higgins
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  3. Anthony G. Vito
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Correspondence to Gennaro F. Vito.

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This research was supported by a grant from the Proteus Fund.

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Vito, G.F., Higgins, G.E. & Vito, A.G. Tracking Capital Homicide Cases in Jefferson County, KY 2000–2010. Am J Crim Just 39, 331–340 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-013-9209-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-013-9209-3

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