Race and the death penalty. Whether a convicted murderer gets the death penalty seems to be influenced by the race of the victim. Here are data on 326 cases in which the defendant was convicted of murder:

White Defendant White Black victim victim Death 19 0 Not 132 9 Black Defendant White Black victim victim Death 11 6 Not 52 97

(a) Use these data to make a two-way table of defendant’s race (white or black)

versus death penalty (Yes or No).

(b) Show that Simpson’s paradox holds: a higher percentage of white defendants are sentenced to death overall, but for both black and white victims a higher percentage of black defendants are sentenced to death.

(c) Use the data to explain why the paradox holds in language that a judge could understand.