The impact of death qualification, belief in a just world, legal authoritarianism, and locus of control on venirepersons' evaluations of aggravating and mitigating circumstances in capital trials

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of death qualification, belief in a just world (BJW), legal authoritarianism (RLAQ), and locus of control (LOC) on venirepersons' evaluations of aggravating and mitigating circumstances in capital trials. 212 venirepersons from the 12th Judicial Circuit in Bradenton, FL, completed a booklet that contained the following: one question that measured their attitudes toward the death penalty; one question that categorized their death-qualification status; the BJW, LOC, and RLAQ scales; a summary of the guilt and penalty phases of a capital case; a 26-item measure that required participants to evaluate aggravators, nonstatutory mitigators, and statutory mitigators on a 6-point Likert scale; sentence preference; and standard demographic questions. Results indicated that death-qualified venirepersons were more likely to demonstrate higher endorsements of aggravating factors and lower endorsements of both nonstatutory and statutory mitigating factors. Death-qualified participants were also more likely to have a high belief in a just world, espouse legal authoritarian beliefs, and exhibit an internal locus of control. Findings also suggested that venirepersons with a low belief in a just world and an external locus of control demonstrated higher endorsements of statutory mitigators. Participants with legal authoritarian beliefs revealed higher endorsements of aggravators and lower endorsements of nonstatutory mitigators. Legal implications and applications are discussed.

The susceptible circle: A taxonomy of followers associated with destructive leadership

“…In fact, BJW is associated with people's cognitive rationalization of inexplicable acts of violence and injustice through devaluation of those victims involved (Kleinke & Meyer, 1990;Lerner & Simmons, 1966;Smith, Keating, Hester, & Mitchell, 1976). BJW is also related to authoritarianism (Butler & Moran, 2007;Rubin & Peplau, 1973;Zuckerman, Gerbasi, & Marion, 1977), perhaps because both constructs are based on the idea that strong and powerful people are good and weak and powerless people are bad (Rubin & Peplau, 1975).…”

Jury Selection in Child Sex Abuse Trials: A Case Analysis

“…As such, authoritarianism is a particularly relevant trait in capital trials because they involve assignment of the death penalty, sexual-orientation-based hate crimes, and sex offenses. Literature indicates that authoritarianism is a personality construct commonly utilized in legal processes (e.g., Butler & Moran, 2007;Lieberman & Sales, 2007). In the context of the present case study, people high in authoritarianism potentially would convict based in part on perceptions of the defendant as a deviant, immoral person.…”

Examining legal authoritarianism in the impact of punishment severity on juror decisions

“…For example, RWA is associated with harsher punitive attitudes in general (Colemont, Van Hiel, & Cornelis, 2011), including attitudes endorsing mandatory sentencing and capital punishment (Feather & Souter, 2002;McKelvie, 2013). Butler and Moran (2007) found a similar correlation between LA and death qualification (i.e., jurors willing to consider the death penalty; see also Devine & Caughlin, 2014). Furthermore, RWA is positively correlated with sentencing goals of deterrence, retribution, and protection of society, and negatively correlated with belief in rehabilitation as a goal in correctional settings (Feather & Souter, 2002; see also White & Knowles, 2013 for similar correlations between LA and sentencing goals).…”

“…Individual differences, such as authoritarianism (Altemeyer, 1996), also affect juror decision making (Butler & Moran, 2007;Narby, Cutler, & Moran, 1993). A variety of authoritarian measures exist.…”