Alcohol and Drug Mitigation in Capital Murder Trials: Implications for Sentencing Decisions
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-2010
Keywords
capital punishment, sentencing, alcohol and drugs mitigation
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1080/07418820903051623
Abstract
Analyses of the impact on sentencing when alcohol and drug‐related mitigation is used in the sentencing phases of capital murder trials is virtually absent from the existing literature. The present study addresses this by exploring the effect of having mitigation with alcohol and drug themes accepted in a large sample (n = 804) of capital murder trials in North Carolina. Logistic regression analyses that include a number of relevant control variables reveal no substantive impacts of having alcohol mitigation accepted by capital murder juries, but drug mitigators that were either accepted or rejected by juries were associated with an increased risk of receiving a death sentence. Possible reasons for the results and their implications are discussed and suggestions are made for further study of the effects of alcohol/drug mitigation in capital trials.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Justice Quarterly, v. 27, issue 4, p. 517-537
Scholar Commons Citation
Bjerregaard, Beth E.; Smith, M. Dwayne; Fogel, Sondra J.; and Palacios, Wilson R., "Alcohol and Drug Mitigation in Capital Murder Trials: Implications for Sentencing Decisions" (2010). Social Work Faculty Publications. 125.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/sok_facpub/125
