Katherine Beckett

Katherine Beckett is an American sociologist who holds professorships in the Law, Societies and Justice Program and the Department of Sociology at the University of Washington, after previously teaching at Indiana University. Her research examines racial disparities within the United States criminal justice system, including disproportionately high rates of drug arrests among racial minorities and court-imposed bans restricting access to public parks. Her most significant policy impact came through her research on capital punishment: in October 2018 the Washington Supreme Court abolished the state's death penalty, citing its unconstitutionally racist imposition, and relied directly on regression analysis Beckett had conducted on behalf of a death row prisoner showing systemic racial bias in capital sentencing. She has also co-developed the Rethinking Punishment Radio Project and contributed to the podcast Cited.