The Death Penalty and Jury Deliberations

Flashcards covering capital punishment statistics, jury selection biases, and a specific psychological study on the impact of childhood abuse on sentencing deliberations.

American Bar Association

An organization that called for a nation-wide moratorium on capital punishment.

31

The number of states, in addition to the federal government, where the death penalty still exists.

Death Qualification Process

A jury selection process where jurors who support the death penalty are found to be more likely to convict, more likely to be White and male, and score higher on explicit racism.

Mitigating Factor

A circumstance, such as a history of child abuse, that attorneys hope jurors will use to argue against a death sentence.

Aggravating Factor

A circumstance used to argue for a death sentence; child abuse can sometimes be used this way if it is seen as a predictor of future violence.

Backfire Effect

When factors intended to mitigate a sentence are instead used against the defendant as aggravating factors.

Margaret Stevenson, PhD

The lead author of the 2010 study 'Jurors’ Discussions of a Defendants’ Childhood Maltreatment During Capital Sentencing Deliberations.'

34

The number of mock juries (consisting of 11 to 12 jurors each) used in the Diamond, Casper, Heiert, & Marshall (1996) simulation.

Mitigate (Coding Category)

A statement category where a juror suggests conditions like early childhood abuse 'threw' the defendant into the crime.

Ignore as a Mitigator (Coding Category)

A statement category where a juror acknowledges childhood problems but notes that 'not everybody ends up killing someone.'

Aggravate (Coding Category)

A statement category where a juror suggests the defendant 'deserved' the abuse or that abuse makes them 'more likely to be that way.'

Ignore as an Aggravator (Coding Category)

A statement category where a juror argues that you cannot say everyone without an ideal family life will turn out bad.

431

The total number of statements about child abuse identified across all 34 mock jury deliberations.

44%

The percentage of child abuse statements in the study that were coded as 'Ignore as a Mitigator.'

33%

The percentage of child abuse statements in the study that were coded as 'Mitigate.'

Weiner (2006)

The researcher who applied attribution theory to legal decision-making, specifically regarding controllability and stability.

Controllable Attribution

The perception that the cause of a crime was intentional and the defendant could have controlled their behavior regardless of external factors like abuse.

Uncontrollable Attribution

The perception that the cause of a crime was unintentional or that the defendant was less able to control their behavior due to abuse or mental illness.

Stable Attribution

In attributional analysis, the belief that the negative effects of childhood abuse are permanent.

Unstable Attribution

In attributional analysis, the belief that a defendant can recover from the negative effects of childhood abuse.

Political Conservatism

A juror characteristic that predicts an increase in pro-prosecution statements and attributions about alcohol abuse, but not child abuse.

Gender

A juror characteristic that did not significantly predict statements or attributions for child abuse or alcohol abuse.