MOCK JURORS EVALUATIONS OF INSANITY DEFENSE VERDICT SELECTION - THE ROLE OF DEATH-PENALTY ATTITUDES

The present study examined the impact of mock jurors' attitudes toward the death penalty on their evaluations of critical components of an i nsanity defense trial. These critical components included jurors' eval uations of the efficacy of the insanity defense, expert psychological testimony, the defendant's mental status and, importantly, their subse quent verdicts. A mock trial was presented to 137 college student part icipants by means of an audio tape and slide show. Following the reena cted trial, participants answered a series of questions regarding the case. Statistical analyses revealed significant associations between j urors' attitudes toward the death penalty and their evaluations of the efficacy of the insanity defense, the accuracy of expert testimony, t he defendant's mental status, and their final verdict selections. Mock jurors who favored the death penalty were more accepting of the prose cution's expert testimony, less believing that the crime was a result of the defendant's mental illness, and less believing in the efficacy of the insanity defense itself: Moreover, those mock jurors who held p ro-death penalty attitudes were significantly less willing to find the defendant Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity.