Je. Pfeifer et al., EUTHANASIA ON TRIAL - EXAMINING PUBLIC-ATTITUDES TOWARD NONPHYSICIAN-ASSISTED DEATH, Journal of social issues, 52(2), 1996, pp. 119-129
This study investigated the influence of various contextual effects on
the decisions of subjects evaluating a case of nonphysician-assisted
suicide. Subjects viewed a videotaped deposition of an individual emot
ionally or nonemotionally describing how he assisted in the death of h
is terminally ill wife by disconnecting her respirator or shooting her
in the head, The deposition was followed by jury instructions that ou
tlined the duties of the subject and, in some cases, was followed by a
nullification instruction that informed the subjects of their right t
o ignore the law in this case if they felt it would culminate in an un
fair verdict. After viewing the videotape, subjects were asked to rate
she guilt of the individual as well as their confidence in this ratin
g, Results indicate that the means of death and the type of instructio
n significantly affect guilt ratings. The implications of these findin
gs are discussed.