Latitude and Severity of Sentencing Options, Race of the Victim and Decisions of Simulated Jurors: Some Issues Arising from the “Algiers Motel” Trial

Kalman J. Kaplan; Roger I. Simon

doi:10.2307/3052830

Abstract

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On the fourth day of the Detroit riots (1967), newspapers reported that three Negroes had been killed in a sniper battle at the Algiers Motel. The night before — Tuesday, July 25 — rumors of sniping were widespread. Responding to a telephone report of shots fired in the vicinity, a number of Detroit police officers, State Troopers and National Guardsmen rushed into the annex of the Algiers Motel. Inside, they found ten black men and two white girls. No guns were found. The police began questioning them. One hour later, when the police left, three of the men lay dead [Carl Cooper, Fred Temple, and Auburey Pollard], shot at close range. The others, including the two girls, had been severely beaten (Hersey, 1968; insert ours).

References

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Latitude and Severity of Sentencing Options, Race of the Victim and Decisions of Simulated Jurors: Some Issues Arising from the “Algiers Motel” Trial

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