The effect of mortality salience on death penalty sentencing decisions when the defendant is severely mentally ill

Bibliographic Data

ID12936731
AuthorsBryn Bandt-Law (0000-0001-5821-515X, Claremont McKenna College, corresponding author), Daniel A Krau (0000-0002-4144-800X, Claremont McKenna College)
Year2017
Volume9
Issue2
Pages141-154
Publication date2017-03-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Aggression Conflict and Peace Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1759-6599 • E-ISSN: 2042-8715
PublisherEmerald Publishing Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1108/jacpr-04-2016-0225
OpenAlexW2406112654
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited30

Purpose Mortality is a salient factor during capital sentencing. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role death plays in jurors’ decisions when sentencing a severely mentally ill defendant who is subject to possible discrimination in a capital trial because of that status. Design/methodology/approach The current experiment measured venire jurors’ ( n =133) mental illness dangerousness beliefs, and then experimentally manipulated type of mortality salience (dual-focused: participants who contemplated their own mortality and were exposed to trial-related death references vs trial focused: only exposed to death references) and the type of defendant (severely mentally ill vs neutral) accused of a capital offense. Findings Mock jurors perceived mental illness to be an important mitigating factor when dual (i.e. self) focused mortality (DFM) salience was induced, whereas participants only exposed to trial-related death references considered mental illness to be an aggravating factor in sentencing and were more likely to evidence stereotype adherence toward the defendant. Practical implications The implications of the authors’ findings are problematic for the current legal system. During the majority of capital sentencing, jurors will only be exposed to trial-related death references, as individuals in the trial-focused mortality condition were. The findings suggest that these jurors are likely to engage in discriminatory stereotypes that do not consider fair process when making sentencing decisions. This research also suggests that mortality salience may be able to increase jurors’ attention to such concerns in a trial scenario even when negative mental illness stereotypes are present. Originality/value Research builds on existing terror management theory and offers a more nuanced perspective of how focusing on one’s own death can affect jurors’ reliance on stereotypes and lead to inappropriate decisions. Mortality salience can lead to decisions based upon procedural fairness when stereotypes and mortality salience are both present

Mental health · Mental illness · Mortality salience · Psychiatry · Salience (neuroscience · Clinical Psychology · Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

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