Intent, culpability, and blameworthiness: Exploring variations in conceptualization among felony murder cases, law, and social science using a natural language processing approach

• In Event: Policy Panel: Enhancing Translational Criminology with Natural Language Processing and Data Science

Abstract

The focal concerns perspective argues that judges based their decisions on three primary focal concerns: (1) the degree of blame or culpability of the offender; (2) the perceived dangerousness of the offender and protection of the community; and (3) the practical resource constraints and consequences of the sentencing decisions. Although this is a prominent theoretical perspective to used to explain judicial decision-making, it has also been criticized for vague conceptualization and measurement of key constructs, such as offender blame or culpability. Additionally, the ways in which these are conceptualized within the social science literature on judicial decision-making may not be congruent with how intent, blame, and culpability are discussed in legal contexts or statute language. One area of case law where these bodies of literature may most notably diverge is felony murder, where issues of intent, culpability, and blame have become a key area of debate among legal scholars. The purpose of this study is to use a natural language processing approach to examine the ways in which intent, culpability, and blameworthiness are conceptualized and discussed within felony murder case law, statute language, law reviews, and social science literature. We anticipate this research to contribute to the theoretical understanding of these key focal concerns concepts. Additionally, this research applies a translational perspective to assess the intersections of law and social science in the areas of judicial decision-making.

Authors

• Kimberly A. Kaiser, University of Mississippi

• Thomas Bryan Smith, University of Mississippi