Does Justice Persevere in Juror's Determination of Death? The Significance of Sentencing Considerations in Capital Cases

• In Event: The Politics of Punishment

Abstract

The jury plays a central but controversial role in the American legal system. It is praised by many
as a bulwark of freedom and democracy. It has been proposed that jurors may decide their verdict based on emotion, as opposed to the evidence presented during the trial and judicial instruction. The present study analyzes the influence of sentencing considerations and jurors’ receptivity to mitigating and aggravating circumstances in capital cases and its effect on jurors’ willingness to select a punishment of death. Further, victim suffering, level of brutality associated with the crime, defendant’s race, defendant empathy, and the influence of juror demographics will be explored. In-depth interviews were conducted with actual capital jurors in Pennsylvania, as part of the Capital Jury Project.

Authors

• Stephanie Lynn Albertson, Indiana University Southeast

• Holly Gehlhausen, Indiana University Southeast

• Cendra Stacy, Indiana University Southeast