Attribution styles and attitudes toward capital punishment for juveniles, the mentally incompetent, and the mentally retarded

This study used attribution theory to explain respondents' levels of support for the death penalty for juveniles, the mentally ill, and the mentally retarded via the administration of a quasi-experimental factorial survey to 697 subjects who were called for jury service. The results indicate that the respondents with dispositional attribution styles were significantly more likely to recommend a death sentence than were those with situational attirbution styles. Moreover, the study found that the effects of a large number of the “known correlates” of support for the death penalty were fully or substantially mediated by attribution theory measures. The substantive, theoretical, methodological, and legal/policy implications of the study are discussed. The authors thank the judges, court personnel, and venirepersons of the 13th Judicial District for the State of Florida (Hillsborough County, FL) for their cooperation in this research. They also acknowledge the helpful comments and suggestions of the anonymous reviewers and Christine S. Sellers on this article. A previous version of the article was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Atlanta, November 2001. The authors thank the judges, court personnel, and venirepersons of the 13th Judicial District for the State of Florida (Hillsborough County, FL) for their cooperation in this research. They also acknowledge the helpful comments and suggestions of the anonymous reviewers and Christine S. Sellers on this article. A previous version of the article was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Atlanta, November 2001. Notes The authors thank the judges, court personnel, and venirepersons of the 13th Judicial District for the State of Florida (Hillsborough County, FL) for their cooperation in this research. They also acknowledge the helpful comments and suggestions of the anonymous reviewers and Christine S. Sellers on this article. A previous version of the article was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Atlanta, November 2001.