Examining the Death Penalty Insider Perspective: Capital Bench & Bar Interviews

Authors

Sherri DioGuardi

Abstract

"This study conducted semi-structured interviews with 27 death penalty insiders (9 capital judges, 9 prosecutors and 9 defense attorneys) across three states. Prior research examined whether knowledge of capital punishment correlates with death penalty support (the Marshall Hypothesis). While prior research focused on opinions of laypeople, this study interviewed those with direct, hands-on experience to explore the knowledge-based, insider perspective. The majority (80%) of interviewee-respondents did not believe the death penalty is necessary in light of Life without the Possibility of Parole as an available sentencing option, and 62% did not support capital punishment. Qualitative data analysis reveals a wealth of insider information that advances death penalty knowledge and informs policy."

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

DioGuardi, Sherri (2014) "Examining the Death Penalty Insider Perspective: Capital Bench & Bar Interviews," Qualitative Criminology (QC): Vol. 2: No. 1, Article 7.
Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/qc/vol2/iss1/7