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Full-Text Articles in Psychology
Life Without Parole: The Influence Of Age And Race On The Sentencing Of Juvenile Offenders, Maria Annabel Mireles
Life Without Parole: The Influence Of Age And Race On The Sentencing Of Juvenile Offenders, Maria Annabel Mireles
Psychology Theses
In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to sentence adolescents charged with non-homicide crimes to life without parole (Graham v. Florida, 2012). Currently, research regarding life without parole is assessed in conjunction with the death penalty, in which life without parole is proposed as a lesser alternative to the death penalty. The current study investigated whether age and race are predictive factors in sentencing juvenile offenders. A sample consisting of 225 undergraduate students were presented with one of six case scenarios adapted from Wilkins v. Missouri (1985) in which the defendant’s age (13, 15, 17) and race …
The Moderating Effect Of Judge’S Instructions On Victim Impact Testimony In Capital Cases, Judith Platania, Garrett Berman
The Moderating Effect Of Judge’S Instructions On Victim Impact Testimony In Capital Cases, Judith Platania, Garrett Berman
Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications
In this study, we addressed whether victim impact instructions served as a legal safeguard in a capital case involving victim impact testimony. We hypothesized that specific victim impact instructions would moderate the relation between victim impact testimony and death penalty recommendations. One hundred sixty-six participants viewed a simulated videotaped trial in which a victim impact statement was delivered in different emotional conditions. Judge’s instructions were varied as either general instructions or with the addition of specific victim impact instructions. Participant-jurors who heard specific victim impact instructions were less likely to recommend death compared to participants who heard general jury instructions. …