The Overlap Between Defendants with Mental Disorders and Predictors of Support for the Death Penalty

• In Event: Posters I

Abstract

The impact of defendants with mental illness, as well as jury characteristics on capital case outcomes has been studied separately. Age, gender, race, political affiliation, and religiosity have all been found to be predictors of support for the death penalty (Burgason, Pazzani 2014; Miller 2007). Edens (2004, 2005, 2012, 2013) has conducted many studies that surround the topic of mental diagnosis and the death penalty as well. This research considers the overlap between the two. This study hypothesized that participants who had characteristics that often predict support for the death penalty would be more likely to choose a death sentence for those with a psychopathy disorder than those with no mental disorder or a psychosis disorder. Participants (N=120), students from a small liberal arts college, were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions (no disorder, psychosis, or psychopathy) then asked to read the case vignette with the corresponding mental diagnosis. The participants also completed a short death-sentencing questionnaire and rated their opinions on a likert scale. The results of the study were insignificant but revealed possibilities for future research such as examining gender bias and its effect on capital cases.

Author

• Maija Belmar, Westminster College