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NCJ Number: 152147
Title: Comparison of Factors Associated With Uninformed and Informed Death Penalty Opinions
Journal: Journal of Criminal Justice Volume:22 Issue:2 Dated:(1994) Pages:125-143
Author(s): R M Bohm; R E Vogel
Date Published: 1993
Page Count: 19
Type: Survey
Format: Article
Language: English
Country: United States of America
Annotation: An analysis of attitudes toward capital punishment revealed that although some differences exist in the factors significantly related to uninformed versus informed death penalty opinions, significant factors are common to both.
Abstract: The participants were 222 undergraduates in an Alabama university. The experimental group of 120 students were enrolled in special classes on the death penalty during the spring of 1988 and 1989; the control group was enrolled in other courses offered at the same time as the death penalty classes. Results revealed that whether informed about the death penalty or not, the more that participants favored the death penalty, the more likely they were to be white and to agree with revenge, incapacitation, and general deterrence items. The converse was true for opponents of capital punishment. Knowledge about the death penalty made a difference only for crime victims, who were less likely than others to favor the death penalty, and for proponents of the death penalty. Proponents were less likely than others to agree that a danger exists of executing an innocent person and that whether a person receives the death penalty depends on factors such as the composition of the jury. Findings suggest that information about the death penalty is unlikely to change core factors, which appear to be assimilated in a biased manner to support initial positions. Tables, notes, and 30 references (Author abstract modified)
Main Term(s): Corrections policies; Court research
Index Term(s): Capital punishment; Public Opinion of Corrections
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