Thesis
Capital punishment for mentally ill offenders: an assessment of "evolving standards of decency"
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
May 2012
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00008295
Abstract
In recent years, several landmark cases have excluded groups of offenders from capital punishment eligibility on the basis of diminished capacity and evolving standards of decency. The current study examined data from 203 university students to examine the evolving standards of decency regarding death penalty eligibility for individuals with mental health diagnoses. Participants were provided with one of four case vignettes, which varied only by mental health diagnosis, and asked to sentence the defendant in the vignette to death or to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Results revealed that sentencing decision differed by diagnosis; participants sentenced the defendant with Paranoid Schizophrenia less harshly than they did the defendants with Bipolar I Disorder without psychotic features, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and no mental health diagnosis. Perceived level of responsibility for the crime did not significantly mediate the relationship between diagnosis and sentencing decision.
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Details
- Title
- Capital punishment for mentally ill offenders
- Creators
- Michele Pich
- Contributors
- Naomi E. Goldstein (Advisor) - Drexel University, Drexel University (1970-)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- vi, 51 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991021888989804721