These findings are slightly different from those reported by Holcomb, Williams, and Demuth (2004), which found that white female victim cases stand apart from the others. This finding is important theoretically because instead of suggesting a symbolic protection of white women, the findings are consistent with the notion that black male victims are devalued in the adjudication process. It is also possible that the different findings reported in Holcomb, Williams, and Demuth (2004) and the current study are a function of the social–political–cultural context in which those cases were decided. The Holcomb, Williams, and Demuth (2004) study was conducted with data collected in Ohio during the 1990s, although the Baldus data used in the current study were collected from Georgia during the 1970s. Prior research has demonstrated how the specific context of sentencing practices can affect aggregate-based research outcomes (see, for example, Dixon, 1995; Myers and Talarico, 1986). The differences in outcomes may be simply a reflection of different attitudes and concerns of decision makers at different times and cultural contexts. It only strengthens the need for continuing research that uses the quality of data and the analyses reported here.