Citation

Bohm RM, Vogel RE. J. Crim. Justice 1994; 22(2): 125-143.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1994, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/0047-2352(94)90108-2

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The study shows that while there are some differences in the factors that are significantly related to uninformed versus informed death penalty opinions, there also are significant factors common to both, that is, certain “core” factors. Whether informed or not, the more subjects favored the death penalty, the more likely they were to be white and to agree with revenge, incapacitation, and general deterrence items (the converse was true for opponents). Death penalty knowledge only made a difference for crime victims (they were less likely to favor the death penalty) and for death penalty proponents (they were less likely to agree that there is a danger of executing an innocent person and that whether a person receives the death penalty depends on such things as the make-up of the jury; the converse was true for opponents). The results of the study suggest that death penalty information is not likely to change core factors, which appear to be assimilated biasedly to support initial positions.