Impact of General Death Penalty Belief on Preferred Punishment in Specific Cases

• In Event: The Death Penalty as Social and Political Control

Abstract

Past studies of death penalty public opinion often relied on oversimplified general questions utilized in polls to measure people’s attitude, and only a limited number of studies explored people’s preferred punishment in specific case scenarios. What has not yet been tested, however, is the potential impact of people’s general belief on their choice of punishment in specific cases. Based on a nonrandom sample of 516 criminal justice professionals from one southern Chinese city, this study trichotomized survey respondents into three groups (the supporters, unsure, and opponents) and tested the impact of people’s general death penalty belief on their preferred punishment in five capital cases. The results confirmed that the undecided and the opponents are more likely to choose more lenient punishment in specific cases compared to the death penalty supporters. Nevertheless, the results depend upon the specific contexts including but not limited to capital offenses tested and alternative punishments offered.

Authors

• Bin Liang, Oklahoma State University-Tulsa

• Jianhong Liu, Macau University of Science and Technology

• Hong Lu, University of Nevada, Las Vegas