NCJ Number
123284
Journal
Sociology and Social Research Volume: 74 Issue: 2 Dated: (January 1990) Pages: 85-94
Date Published
1990
Length
10 pages
Annotation
A recent issue before the U.S. Supreme Court has been the representativeness of capital juries.
Abstract
While the court has yet to decide that death-qualified juries constitute any threat to the rights of those convicted of capital offenses and subsequently sentenced to death, social scientists have been accumulating research evidence on the issue. This study presents the findings of a general population survey especially designed to ascertain eligibility for capital jury duty. Using a vignette of a capital case, the effect of bias in prospective jurors was examined across levels of gender, race, and age of defendants for both conviction and sentencing decisions. Among the findings were; (1) prospective death-qualified jurors tend to be more conviction-prone than those who would be excluded, (2) white male prospective jurors are most likely to choose the death-penalty, and (3) interaction exists among jury candidate and defendant races so that white defendants are most likely to benefit from the presence of minority jurors. 1 note, 25 references, 1 appendix, 5 tables. (Author abstract)