Raymond Paternoster (February 29, 1952 – March 5, 2017) was an American criminologist who taught at the University of Maryland from 1982 until his death in 2017.
[2] Paternoster joined the faculty of the University of South Carolina as an assistant professor in 1978.
[3] Paternoster was known for his research on racial disparities in the application of capital punishment in the United States.
[4][5][6][7] This research includes a study of racial bias in Maryland's death penalty, commissioned by the state's then-governor, Parris N. Glendening.
In his dissent in a case brought by death row inmate Vernon Evans, Jr., Bell wrote, "The Paternoster study provides substantial evidence that the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office singled out black defendants from similarly situated white defendants when choosing against whom to seek the death penalty.