摘要:

There are several reasons to expect that the issue of capital punishment will continue to demand the attention of the public and the media. To provide necessary background for the articles that follow, we present a brief history of the death penalty in the United States and describe the American system of capital jurisprudence. We also present a detailed examination of one issue that frequently surfaces in discussions of capital punishment—the financial cost of the death penalty and its attendant procedures. Finally, we briefly describe each of the articles in this JSI issue. These articles examine the death penalty and capital trials from the perspective of social scienc

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1994.tb02408.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

American support for the death penalty has steadily increased since 1966, when opponents outnumbered supporters, and now in the mid‐1990s is at a near record high. Research over the last 20 years has tended to confirm the hypothesis that most people's death penalty attitudes (pro or con) are based on emotion rather than information or rational argument. People feel strongly about the death penalty, know little about it, and feel no need to know more. Factual information (e.g., about deterrence and discrimination) is generally irrelevant to people's attitudes, and they are aware that this is so. Support for the death penalty has risen for most major felonies. Youth is seen as much less of a mitigating factor than it was 35 years ago, but most people still oppose the execution of the mentally retarded. As crime rates have risen despite repeated promises by politicians to “get tough on crime,” the death penalty has become an increasingly prominent issue in electoral politics, suggesting that public opinion should be an issue of central importance for research. We suggest that future research should focus more explicitly on racial attitudes, on comparisons of the death penalty with specific alternatives, and on the emotional aspects of attitudes toward the death pe

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1994.tb02409.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

This paper reviews and assesses the empirical literature on murder, capital punishment, and deterrence. There is a large body of evidence regarding these issues, with studies yielding a rather consistent pattern of nondeterrence. However, most investigations are limited because they rely upon the general homicide rate as the criterion variable, although both legally and theoretically, different types of murder may be differentially subject to deterrence. As an example of how deterrence investigations may benefit from examining different types of homicide, we conduct a monthly time‐series analysis of the possible deterrent effect of the provision for capital punishment, levels of execution, and the amount and type of television news coverage executions receive on overall and different types of police killings for 1976–1989. The analysis reveals no evidence that police are afforded an added measure of protection against death by capital punishm

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1994.tb02410.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

In this article we address the issues of when and how well the United States Supreme Court has taken cognizance of psychological data in its evolving jurisprudence of death. After a brief historical review of the use of psychological data in death penalty litigation, and a discussion of how and why it once promised to play a unique role in capital litigation, we assess the Court's record in using and evaluating this kind of data over the last two decades. Specifically, we look at the nature of the social facts that have been introduced in capital litigation during this period, discuss their potential constitutional importance, and systematically and critically evaluate the Court's treatment of them.

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1994.tb02411.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

We consider whether capriciousness and/or bias play an undue role in capital trials. The potential for inequity is explored with regard to the selection of the jury, the verdict, and the determination of the penalty. It is concluded that while more data are necessary regarding most aspects of the capital trial, there is reason to believe inequities exist in the form both of caprice and of bias. Rectifying some of these inequities may be accomplished with relative ease, while reducing or eliminating others is more troublesome. As long as the death penalty remains in effect, whatever one's views on its legality or morality, we should strive to eliminate arbitrariness and bias in its application.

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1994.tb02412.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Transcribed sentencing phase summations were content analyzed and comparisons were made between prosecution and defense arguments. Arguments were coded to discover the themes emphasized by attorneys in arguing for life imprisonment or the death penalty. Prosecutors portrayed the defendant as a cold, remorseless killer, emphasized the brutal nature of the murder, the suffering experienced by victims, and the moral legitimacy of revenge. Defenders explained the murders in the context of the defendant's personal history, emphasized the severity of life without the possibility of parole, and argued that the death penalty is unjust and morally wrong. Defenders provided richer accounts of the life history of the defendant and prosecutors provided more vivid accounts of the murder. Attorney arguments are discussed in light of research on communication, social cognition, and persuasion.

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1994.tb02413.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Death sentencing is a psychologically complex and legally profound process. Our research explored the experiences of capital jurors who had deliberated to verdict in death penalty sentencing hearings. In‐depth interviews conducted with samples of jurors from two states—California and Oregon—examined the nature and function of capital sentencing instructions, jurors' interpretations of the evidence that was presented during the penalty phase of the trial, their conceptions of the nature of the task before them, and whether the two fundamentally different sentencing frameworks significantly altered the decision‐making

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1994.tb02414.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The Supreme Court in recent decades has been increasingly receptive to social science evidence in a variety of contexts and appeared poised in the early 1970s to employ such evidence in its consideration of the death penalty. This expectation was not fulfilled, and majorities in most death penalty cases sinceGregg v. Georgia(1976) have shown little interest in such evidence. For example, although the Court often cites public sentiment as the basis for decisions about evolving standards for what is cruel and unusual punishment, it has not appreciated the measurement issues associated with gauging such sentiment. We discuss a variety of reasons why the Court may have eschewed social science evidence in death penalty litigation, and suggest an agenda for future research that is driven not simply by litigation prospects but also by more general questions about jury decision making.

ISSN:0022-4537    

DOI:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1994.tb02415.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1994

数据来源: WILEY