Abstract
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys have presented religious appeals and testimony about a defendant's religious activities in order to influence capital jurors' sentencing. Courts that have objected to this use of religion fear that religion will improperly influence jurors' decisions and interfere with their ability to weigh aggravators and mitigators. This study investigated the effects of both prosecution and defense appeals. Prosecution appeals did not affect verdict decisions; however, use of religion by the defense affected both verdicts and the weighing of aggravators and mitigators. These results could be due to differences in perceived sincerity and remorse that are conveyed in the various appeals.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 675-684 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Law and human behavior |
Volume | 30 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2006 |
Keywords
- Attorney arguments
- Capital punishment
- Death penalty
- Jury decision making
- Religion
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
- General Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Law