William Berry III

DPhil student

William Berry III is a Green Templeton College student currently pursuing his DPhil in Criminology. His DPhil thesis, supervised by Dr. Carolyn Hoyle, is entitled "The culture of capital punishment in America's swing state: the case of Ohio." This research project explores the use of capital punishment and the ?cultural? explanations for such usage in a narrow but representative context -- the state of Ohio. The state of Ohio has been a classic swing state in American presidential politics, voting for the winner in every presidential election since 1964. Despite its seeming political balance, Ohio has been sending a disproportionate number of criminal defendants to death row in the post-Furman era (since 1976) and currently houses the fifth-largest death row population in the United States. This study seeks to explain this phenomenon by exploring the relationship between political culture and capital punishment in Ohio by identifying the procedural factors that influence the capital sentencing rate. Specifically, it examines the various aspects of Ohio?s criminal procedure that may account for its disproportionate death row population. Having determined what best accounts for the high rate of capital conviction, the study also evaluates the political and cultural elements that underlie the relevant procedural causes. Finally, this research will evaluate whether these elements reflect local or state-wide consensus concerning capital punishment policy, and more broadly, the degree to which the findings in Ohio are applicable to the United States as a whole. Will's primary research interests are in the areas of capital punishment and sentencing, and his research examines the relevant legal doctrine in the context of broader cultural and sociological concepts. Prior to coming to Oxford, Will was a practising attorney in Washington, D.C. He has previously received his BA in English from the University of Virginia and a JD from Vanderbilt University. In addition, he has served as a law clerk for the Honorable Gilbert Merritt on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the Honorable Thomas Wiseman on the District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.