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Future of Capital Trials: An Exploration of Procedural Justice, Race, and Willingness to Serve Again

NCJ Number
235185
Journal
Criminal Justice Review Volume: 36 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2011 Pages: 183-200
Author(s)
Megan Denver
Date Published
June 2011
Length
18 pages
Annotation
The purpose of this article is to determine whether race and procedural justice affect capital jurors' willingness to serve again on a capital case.
Abstract
Using logistic regression, data from 662 capital jurors are analyzed. A direct test of procedural justice theory is not supported by these findings; however, feeling emotionally upset about the experience is strongly associated with unwillingness to serve again. In addition, those who served on a White defendantBlack victim case were more likely to report future willingness to serve compared to jurors on White White cases. When the regression model is divided into subsamples (White jurors only and Black jurors only), feeling emotionally upset is still a strong indicator for both groups, and both Black and White jurors are less willing to serve again when the victim in their case was White. In addition, part-time employment was a significant indicator of unwillingness to serve again for Black jurors. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed. (Published Abstract)