Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Recent research has found evidence that the low-activity MAOA gene and history of child maltreatment make people more likely to commit violent, criminal acts. Given the wide discretion defense attorneys have in presenting evidence as mitigation during death penalty cases, it is probable that this specific genetic-environmental (G X E) interaction may be brought into the courtroom as mitigation in the near future. In a 2 X 4 between-subjects factorial design that varied the likelihood of the defendant's future dangerousness (Low or High) and explanations of the defendant’s behavior (Control, Environmental, Genetic, or G X E), participants were exposed to evidence from a capital murder trial, rendered individual verdicts, and then deliberated as a jury to reach a unanimous decision to sentence the defendant to death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The main hypothesis was that the G X E – Low Dangerousness conditions would render the fewest death sentences and results supported this hypothesis.
Author: Natalie Gordon
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2369036717