Variability of Death Penalty Attitudes in China: An Empirical Test of the Marshall Hypotheses

• In Event: Contemporary Issues in Capital Punishment

Abstract

Though a rich body of empirical studies of the Marshall hypotheses has been built, few examined the hypotheses in non-US nations. Based on a sample of 1,077 students and a quasi-experimental design, this study tests the Marshall hypotheses in the Chinese context. Except the control group, three intervention essays (on the subjects of international trend, wrongful conviction, and deterrence respectively) were provided to the experimental groups (one essay per group) and students’ opinions were surveyed afterwards on the use of the death penalty overall and six specific capital offenses (ranging from murder to corruption). The results showed that the majority of Chinese students favored the death penalty and the wrongful conviction essay helped significantly reduce students’ support in the overall death penalty opinion, consistent with the Marshall hypotheses. Nevertheless, the international trend and deterrence essays boosted students’ support when opinions on specific capital offenses were surveyed, thus producing a perplexing counter-effect. As predicted by the Marshall hypotheses, students with a retribution belief were more likely to favor capital punishment and less likely to be swayed by the interventions.

Authors

• Bin Liang, Oklahoma State University

• Jianhong Liu, The University of Macau

• Hong Lu, University of Nevada, Las Vegas