First, males were overrepresented, comprising 93% of the defendants.
Second, African American defendants were overrepresented at 79% of The overall sample
but only 13% of the local population. Moreover, African American defendants were more likely than non-African American defendants to have used a firearm and to have killed a man rather than a woman. We speculate that these differences reflect higher rates of drug and gang-related homicides associated with younger African American males in this locale and that jurisdictions with different community characteristics and crime patterns would show different results. Third, the rates of substance dependence or abuse in this study are consistent with those reported in previous studies.