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Am J Crim Just (2014) 39:818838
DOI 10.1007/s12103-014-9261-7
Kyle A. Burgason & Lynn Pazzani
Received: 6 June 2014 /Accepted: 6 June 2014 /
Published online: 21 June 2014# Southern Criminal Justice Association 2014
Abstract Considerable research has examined public opinion of the death penalty using simplistic questions such as, Do you favor or oppose the death penalty. Simply categorizing people into favoring or opposing capital punishment does little to address the array of factors and circumstances that are part of every murder. We examine variables concerning the nature of homicides from a set of 40 murder vignettes used to gauge respondents level of support for capital punishment in murder cases. The data are structured such that vignette responses are nested within individuals, meaning a multi-level analysis is appropriate. We used HLM to explore how vignette-level or homicide related characteristics influence support for the death penalty, as well as how individual-level characteristics condition these factors. Analyses revealed that individual-level variables were non-significant when analyzed independently; however, cross-level interactions indicated significant individual-level influences on homicide-level characteristics as they relate to respondents support for the death penalty.
Keywords Death penalty. Capital punishment . Public opinion . Homicide. Multi-Level
Introduction
The death penalty continues to receive support from a majority of U.S. Citizens; however, that support has fluctuated over time (Warr, 1995). As measured by the Gallup Poll, support for the death penalty declined through the 1950s to a low of 42 % in 1966. Support increased steadily from 1966 through the 1990s reaching a high
K. A. Burgason (*)
Criminology and Criminal Justice Department, 409-H Belk Building, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC 28723, USAe-mail: kaburgason@ualr.edu
L. Pazzani
Department of Criminology, Pafford Social Science Building, University of West Georgia, Carrollton, GA 30118, USAe-mail: lpazzani@deltastate.edu
The Death Penalty: A Multi-level Analysis of Public Opinion
Am J Crim Just (2014) 39:818838 819
of 80 % in 1994. Support declined somewhat and has remained roughly stable since 2000, in the range of 6470 % (Newport, 2010, p. 2). The Gallup Poll and others like it (e.g. General Social Survey, Harris Poll) each use an abstract form of questioning when measuring opinion where participants do not receive information about the crimes those who are sentenced to death commit. Simply categorizing people into favoring...