The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area On 21 November 2013, the Board of Pardons and Paroles of Alabama unanimously decided to posthumously pardon the three “Scottsboro Boys”,182 who were, along with six other African American boys, sentenced to death for raping two white women in 1931. The decision was made after legislation was passed in Alabama allowing the Board to posthumously grant pardons in cases where racial or social injustice was involved. 183 According to a study conducted by the University of Washington, “juries were three times more likely to impose a sentence of death when the defendant was black than in cases involving similarly situated white defendants.”184 However, the study also showed that neither the race of the victim(s) nor that of the defendant influenced the decision of the prosecutor to seek the death penalty.185 182  “Scottsboro Boys” was the name of group of nine African American teenagers who were accused of raping two white women in Alabama on 25 March 1931. The trial received a lot of publicity and was characterized by many irregularities, including an all-white jury, the poor legal representation given to defendants and disparities in witness statements. The three men who were recently exonerated were the last of the group who had not been pardoned or had charges against them dropped. 183  “Alabama Pardons Scottsboro Boys - Former Death Row Inmates”, 21 November 2013, <http://www. deathpenaltyinfo.org/alabama-pardons-scottsboro-boys-former-death-row-inmates>. 184  Beckett K. and H. Evans, “The Role of Race in Washington State Capital Sentencing 1981-2012”, p. 2, <http:// www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/documents/WashRaceStudy2014.pdf>. 185  Ibid, p. 17. 39