This series of studies examines the effect on juries of victim impact statements (VIS) in capital sentencing trials and the measures a defendant may use in order to counter such evidence. Through impact evidence, victims are permitted to testify in both capital and non-capital trials about the harm experienced as a result of the crime. The first purpose of the proposed studies is to determine the cognitive and affective processes involved when jurors are presented with a VIS. Empirical evidence shows that the inclusion of a VIS moves the focus away from the facts and tends to make decision making more emotional in nature. This has the potential of moving the jury in favor of death, but the processes involved are unclear. We will specifically examine the differential impact of sadness and anger on sentencing in a capital trial. The second purpose is to determine the effect of potential responses a defendant may make in order to balance the emotional impact of a VIS.
Legal scholars have recommended the inclusion of execution impact evidence (EIE) which is procedurally similar to a VIS, but offered by the defense. This series of studies examines the extent to which EIE and defendant remorse, as moderated by the defendant's social standing and defendant affect, counter the impact of the VIS on decision making. Study 1 examines the effect on individual mock jurors' judgments of variations in the emotional tone of VIS's versus EIEs. Study 2 compares differences in the impact on individual mock jurors of EIEs in which a defendant assumes varying degrees of responsibility and contrition Study 3 examines the impact on jury deliberations of the strongest findings from Studies 1 and 2.
This research addresses controversial issues emerging from the current environment in which victims' rights are strongly advocated in the criminal justice system. The focus on what many consider a rebalancing of the system in favor of the victim has created certain expectations about victim participation that some consider unrealistic and at the same time has, according to some critics, dismantled important protections for defendants. The emphasis given to victims' rights raises questions surrounding how much influence VIS's have on juror decision making, how VIS's influence jurors, and whether defendants are left with any effective means of responding. The goal of the current research program is to work toward an understanding of victim impact statements and defense responses in order to determine the extent to which current procedures result in rational processing of the evidence as opposed to affectively-driven decision making. Through this research we can come closer to answering questions about the extent of influence of victim impact statements on decision making, the nature of this influence, and the nature and efficacy of defendant responses to victim impact statements.
