CLARIFYING LIFE AND DEATH MATTERS - AN ANALYSIS OF INSTRUCTIONAL COMPREHENSION AND PENALTY PHASE CLOSING ARGUMENTS

We report the results of two studies designed as follow-ups to our ear lier research on the comprehension of capital penalty instructions. In the first study we examine whether a California penalty instruction t hat was revised by the courts to improve its comprehension by jurors a ccomplishes this goal. In the second study bye content-analyze a sampl e of attorney closing arguments that were given at the conclusion of a ctual capital penalty phases to explore whether they are likely to cla rify those concepts and procedures that are so poorly comprehended in the judge's instructions. Results indicate that the revised instructio n suffers from the same comprehension problems that plagued its predec essor and that attorney arguments appear unlikely to significantly red uce confusion among capital jurors.