Applying Social Geography to Structural Mitigation in Capital Defense
Applying Social Geography to Structural Mitigation in Capital Defense
Summary:
This project applies social geography and spatial data analysis to strengthen structural mitigation arguments in capital defense. By documenting how neighborhood conditions—including poverty, segregation, environmental stressors, and disinvestment—shape an individual’s developmental context and legal outcomes, we provide place-based, legally admissible evidence aligned with Ohio law and ABA mitigation guidelines.
Research Questions:
- RQ1: How can spatial analysis of public data reveal community-level risk factors—such as poverty, segregation, and housing instability—that contribute to life trajectories relevant to culpability and sentencing?
- RQ2: In what ways can social geography and structural disadvantage be systematically incorporated into mitigation investigations to support fair, contextualized legal outcomes in death penalty cases?
| Short description: | This project integrates spatial data and social geography to produce legally admissible, objective evidence of how systemic community-level factors influence life outcomes relevant to culpability and sentencing, advancing structural mitigation in capital defense. |
| Lead developer: | ProfGEBS |
| Further reading: | Review the presentation slides from the Ohio Bar Association’s Death Penalty Defense Seminar |
| Download: | Github repo |
| Main data source(s): | U.S. Census, Area Deprivation Index, Urban Institute data, Cook County parcel data, historical redlining maps |
| Coverage: | Ohio and Cook County, Illinois |
| Citation: | Barboza-Salerno, G. (2025). Applying Social Geography to Structural Mitigation in Capital Defense. Presented at the Ohio Bar Association Death Penalty Defense Seminar, approved by the Supreme Court of Ohio for capital case CLE requirements. |
Check out this environmental risk mapping tutorial for a deeper look at spatial methods used in this work.
Dr. Gia Elise Barboza-Salerno
Director
I am an interdisciplinary scholar whose research integrates law, public health, social work, and advanced statistics to study childhood adversity, violence-related harm, and neighborhood-level inequities. I lead the ISSUES Lab at Ohio State, translating spatial and legal analysis into policy and practice.