Otto, C. W., Applegate, B. K., & Davis, R. K. (2007). Improving comprehension of capital sentencing instructions: Debunking juror misconceptions. Crime and Delinquency, 53(3), 502-517.

Otto, C.; Applegate, B. ;Davis, R.

2007

Otto, C. W., Applegate, B. K., & Davis, R. K. (2007). Improving comprehension of capital sentencing instructions: Debunking juror misconceptions. Crime and Delinquency, 53(3), 502-517.

geen

Previous research has demonstrated that judicial instructions on the law are not well understood by jurors tasked with applying the law to the facts of a case. The past research has also shown that jurors are often confused by the instructions used in the sentencing phase of a capital trial. The current research tested the effectiveness of a debunking approach to improving juror misunderstanding associated with capital sentencing instructions. Participants were randomly assigned to hear either Florida's pattern instructions used in the penalty phase of a capital trial or the same instructions with additional statements that mentioned and refuted misconceptions thought to be associated with established areas of miscomprehension. After participants heard the judicial instructions, their understanding of the law on capital punishment decision making was assessed. The results revealed that comprehension was higher for participants exposed to the bias-refutation statements than for participants who were exposed to only the pattern instructions.

Overall, 53,3% of the questions were answered correctly. The participants who were exposed to capital sentencing instructions that mentioned and refuted known areas of miscomprehension, answered significantly more questions correctly than those in the control condition A significant main effect was also observed for major, criminal justice/legal majors answered 60% of the questions correctly, whereas non-criminal majors answered 50,6% of the questions correctly.

199

1