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Craig J Forsyth - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The sociologist as story teller: the broken foster care system used as mitigation at criminal trial
American Journal of Criminal Justice, 2016Co-Authors: Craig J ForsythAbstract:This paper describes the role a sociologist in a Capital Murder case involving a defendant who was in foster care and adoption for most of his youth. The author of this paper worked as a sociologist/ mitigation expert in this case. The circumstances of his tragic life leading up to and in the foster care system is presented as mitigation. A literature review on the issues surrounding foster care, presented here, was developed and given to all experts and attorneys working on this case. These issues were to be presented whenever appropriate in their testimony or questioning, during both the guilt and penalty phase. The jury found him guilty of two counts of first degree Murder; but voted for life during the sentencing phase. The utility of sociology in criminal cases in general is discussed.
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Posing: The Sociological Routine of a Serial Killer
American Journal of Criminal Justice, 2015Co-Authors: Craig J ForsythAbstract:This paper describes the serial killer Ronald Dominique. Ronald killed at least 23 men in southeast Louisiana between 1997 and 2006. The author of this paper served as a mitigation investigator/expert on his case and has worked in over 300 criminal cases since 1988, most of which were Capital Murder, but also include second degree Murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, rape, and habitual offender hearings. In his capacity as a mitigation investigator he interviewed Ronald multiple times and his friends and family on several occasions. This author examines Ronald’s victims; the acts which killed them; Ronald’s life; and how others saw him. The literature on serial killers is discussed and applied to Ronald crimes and his life. Ronald was gay and his victims were either gay or hustlers who were willing to have sex with gay men for money. Using several theories, the author discusses explanations for serial Murder. Implications for police investigators are discussed.
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A Sub-Cultural Mitigation Defense: Explaining Behaviors Scripted From Ideas
Journal of Civil & Legal Sciences, 2014Co-Authors: Craig J ForsythAbstract:In this paper, I examine the role of a sociologist as a mitigation expert in two cases of violent crime. Both cases used a subculture of violence defense. Case I involved a young black male defendant and a white victim who wasan on-duty police officer. In Case II both victim and defendant were young black males. What makes these cases similar is that both involved a cultural defense in the sentencing phase. The author of this paper, testified at both of these sentencing hearings. The author is a Professor of Sociology, at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. He has worked on over 300 violent crime cases since 1988, most of which were Capital Murder, but also include second degree Murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, rape, and habitual offender hearings.
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The role of the sociologist as mitigation expert in a sentencing hearing
Criminal Justice Studies, 2014Co-Authors: Craig J ForsythAbstract:This paper examines Louisiana’s habitual offender statute and the role of a sociologist as a mitigation expert/criminologist in a specific case. The paper includes a summary of the habitual offender statute; the literature/theories used by the sociologist in his testimony; the trial judge’s decision; and the decision of the three-judge panel of the appellant court, particularly the minority opinion. The case has been returned to the district court for re-sentencing and the trial judge is under no obligation to accept the panel’s decision; but in practice must justify any lenient sentence. The use of sociology as mitigation in criminal cases generally is discussed. The author has worked in over 300 criminal cases since 1988, most of which were Capital Murder, but also include second-degree Murder, manslaughter, armed robbery, rape, and habitual offender hearings.
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A Story Telling of Tragedy
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 2007Co-Authors: Craig J Forsyth, Ouida F. ForsythAbstract:Abstract This paper describes the experience of mitigation experts in first degree Murder cases in the penalty phase of the trial. The first author, who is a sociologist, has worked in Capital Murder cases since 1988, as a mitigation expert in over 200 such cases. The second author assists in the mitigation process by analyzing mental health and educational records. The focus of the paper is a discussion of a specific case in which the defendant committed suicide before the case went to trial.
John F. Edens - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Does Psychopathy Influence Juror Decision-Making in Capital Murder Trials? “The Devil is in the (Methodological) Details”:
Criminal Justice and Behavior, 2020Co-Authors: Tiffany N. Truong, Shannon E. Kelley, John F. EdensAbstract:Concerns about the potentially stigmatizing impact of psychopathy evidence in court have been expressed for decades. Saks et al. manipulated diagnostic information (e.g., psychopathy, schizophrenia...
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Jury panel member perceptions of interpersonal-affective traits of psychopathy predict support for execution in a Capital Murder trial simulation
Behavioral sciences & the law, 2013Co-Authors: Jennifer Cox, John C. Clark, John F. Edens, Shannon Toney Smith, Melissa S. MagyarAbstract:Recent research with college undergraduate mock jurors suggests that how psychopathic they perceive a criminal defendant to be is a powerful predictor of whether they will support a death verdict in simulated Capital Murder trials. Perceived affective and interpersonal traits of psychopathy are especially predictive of support for Capital punishment, with perceived remorselessness explaining a disproportionate amount of variance in these attitudes. The present study attempted to extend these findings with a more representative sample of community members called for jury duty (N = 304). Jurors reviewed a case vignette based on an actual Capital Murder trial, provided sentencing verdicts, and rated the defendant on several characteristics historically associated with the construct of psychopathy. Consistent with prior findings, remorselessness predicted death verdicts, as did the affective and interpersonal features of psychopathy - though the latter effect was more pronounced among jurors who were Caucasian and/or who described their political beliefs as moderate rather than conservative or liberal. Results are discussed in terms of the potentially stigmatizing effects of psychopathy evidence in Capital cases. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Language: en
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No sympathy for the devil: attributing psychopathic traits to Capital Murderers also predicts support for executing them.
Personality disorders, 2012Co-Authors: John F. Edens, Karen M. Davis, Krissie Fernandez Smith, Laura S. GuyAbstract:Mental health evidence concerning antisocial and psychopathic traits appears to be introduced frequently in Capital Murder trials in the United States to argue that defendants are a "continuing threat" to society and thus worthy of execution. Using a simulation design, the present research examined how layperson perceptions of the psychopathic traits exhibited by a Capital defendant would impact their attitudes about whether he should receive a death sentence. Across three studies (total N = 362), ratings of a defendant's perceived level of psychopathy strongly predicted support for executing him. The vast majority of the predictive utility was attributable to interpersonal and affective traits historically associated with psychopathy rather than traits associated with a criminal and socially deviant lifestyle. A defendant's perceived lack of remorse in particular was influential, although perceptions of grandiose self-worth and a manipulative interpersonal style also contributed incrementally to support for a death sentence. These results highlight how attributions regarding socially undesirable personality traits can have a pronounced negative impact on layperson attitudes toward persons who are perceived to exhibit these characteristics.
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Predicting Institutional Violence among Death Row Inmates: The Utility of the Sorensen and Pilgrim Model
Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 2008Co-Authors: Jacqueline K. Buffington-vollum, John F. Edens, Andrea KeilenAbstract:The (Sorensen and Pilgrim, An actuarial risk assessment of violence posed by Capital Murder defendants. J Crim Law Criminol 90:1251–1270, 2000 ) actuarial model was developed to predict institutional violence among life-sentenced Murderers. However, despite its presentation at Capital sentencing, the model has not been validated on death row inmates specifically. This study examined the association between Sorensen and Pilgrim model scores and five types of institutional violence (serious assaults, minor assaults, verbal assault/threats, prison order offenses, and non-violent infractions) among a sample of 155 individuals who had been incarcerated on death row in Texas. Results revealed that risk scores performed better for non-violent infractions than for serious assaults, calling into question the utility of this measure for Capital sentencing evaluations.
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Predictions of Future Dangerousness in Capital Murder Trials: Is It Time to “Disinvent the Wheel?”
Law and Human Behavior, 2005Co-Authors: John F. Edens, Jacqueline K. Buffington-vollum, Andrea Keilen, Phillip Roskamp, Christine AnthonyAbstract:Although recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions regarding the death penalty (e.g., Atkins v. Virginia, 2002 ) have renewed interest in mental health issues, one topic that has not received much attention recently is the ongoing use of expert testimony to support claims that defendants represent a “continuing threat to society.” In this article, we (a) review prior research relevant to determining the accuracy of clinical predictions that Capital defendants will commit future acts of criminal violence; (b) summarize new data from current and former death row inmates in Texas that bolster the claim that such predictions are gross overestimates of risk; and (c) review extant research addressing the potential utility of various risk assessment instruments that increasingly are being used to reinforce clinical predictions in Capital trials. Despite significant recent advances in the field of risk assessment, clinical assertions that a defendant is likely to commit future violent acts appear to be highly inaccurate and ethically questionable at best. Moreover, available research offers little support for the claim that the accuracy of these predictions will be appreciably improved by relying on more structured risk assessment measures that have some demonstrated predictive validity in other contexts.
Beth Bjerregaard - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Rape, Race, and Capital Punishment: An Enduring Cultural Legacy of Lethal Vengeance?
Race and Justice, 2017Co-Authors: John K. Cochran, M. Dwayne Smith, Beth Bjerregaard, Christopher J. Marier, Wesley G. Jennings, Sondra J. FogelAbstract:Historical analyses of southern statutes (i.e., Slave Codes, Black Codes, “Jim Crow,” etc.) and their enforcement reveals evidence of an enduring cultural legacy prescribing lethal vengeance to Blacks who violate White sensibilities, especially for Black males accused of sexually assaulting White females. Using a population of official data on Capital Murder trials in North Carolina (1977–2009), this study examines the degree to which this cultural legacy endures to the present by examining the joint effects of offender’s race and rape/sexual assault on the Capital sentencing outcomes of Capital Murder trial involving White female victims. Our findings reveal support for the continuing endurance of this cultural legacy of lethal vengeance.
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Predictors of Death Sentencing for Minority, Equal, and Majority Female Juries in Capital Murder Trials
Women & Criminal Justice, 2016Co-Authors: Tara N. Richards, M. Dwayne Smith, Beth Bjerregaard, Joseph A. Cochran, Sondra J. FogelAbstract:The relatively small body of prior research investigating whether the sex composition of juries impacts sentencing decisions has produced equivocal results. Exploring this topic further, the current study used a large sample of Capital cases from North Carolina (n = 675) to examine (a) whether jury sex composition predicted jury Capital punishment sentencing decisions; and (b) whether there were different models of sentencing for male-majority, equal male-female, and female-majority juries. When we controlled for a number of legal and extralegal factors, our findings indicated that jury sex composition was independently related to sentencing outcomes. Specifically, equal male-female juries were significantly more likely and female-majority juries were significantly less likely to choose the death penalty versus a sentence of life in prison. In addition, different models (predictors) of sentencing were revealed for each of the jury sex compositions. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.
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When domestic goes Capital: juror decision making in Capital Murder trials involving domestic homicide
Law and human behavior, 2015Co-Authors: Tara N. Richards, M. Dwayne Smith, Sondra J. Fogel, Beth BjerregaardAbstract:Prior research suggests that homicide cases involving familial offenders and victims are subject to a "domestic discount" that reduces sentencing severity. However, the operation of a domestic discount in regard to death penalty sentencing has been rarely examined. The current research uses a near-population of jury decisions in Capital Murder trials conducted in North Carolina from 1991 to 2009 (n = 800), and a series of logistic regression analyses to determine whether there is (a) a direct effect between offender-victim relationship (e.g., domestic, friend/acquaintance, and stranger) and jury decision making, and/or (b) whether domestic offender-victim relationship (as well as other offender-victim relationships) moderates the effect of legal and extralegal case characteristics on jury assessment of the death penalty. Our findings revealed no empirical support for a "domestic discount" whereby juries are less likely to impose death sentences in cases involving domestic homicides. However, substantial differences in predictors of death sentencing were found across offender-victim dyads; most notably, domestic homicide cases demonstrated the most legalistic model of jury decisions to impose death sentences. (PsycINFO Database Record Language: en
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Alcohol and Drug Mitigation in Capital Murder Trials: Implications for Sentencing Decisions
Justice Quarterly, 2009Co-Authors: Beth Bjerregaard, M. Dwayne Smith, Sondra J. Fogel, Wilson R. PalaciosAbstract:Analyses of the impact on sentencing when alcohol and drug‐related mitigation is used in the sentencing phases of Capital Murder trials is virtually absent from the existing literature. The present study addresses this by exploring the effect of having mitigation with alcohol and drug themes accepted in a large sample (n = 804) of Capital Murder trials in North Carolina. Logistic regression analyses that include a number of relevant control variables reveal no substantive impacts of having alcohol mitigation accepted by Capital Murder juries, but drug mitigators that were either accepted or rejected by juries were associated with an increased risk of receiving a death sentence. Possible reasons for the results and their implications are discussed and suggestions are made for further study of the effects of alcohol/drug mitigation in Capital trials.
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The Interaction Between Victim Race and Gender on Sentencing Outcomes in Capital Murder Trials: A Further Exploration
Homicide Studies, 2006Co-Authors: Amy R. Stauffer, M. Dwayne Smith, Sondra J. Fogel, John K. Cochran, Beth BjerregaardAbstract:This study extends previous research on the interactive effects of victim race and gender on death sentence outcomes reported by Williams and Holcomb (2004). They report an interactive effect between victim race and victim gender on Ohio death sentencing outcomes, such that killers of White women are especially at risk of receiving death sentences. The study here seeks to determine if the Williams and Holcomb finding holds for a sample of Murder cases in North Carolina for which the state sought the death penalty. Initial results of a descriptive analysis suggest a White female victim effect, but the introduction of control variables via logistic regression equations yields no gender or race interactions as predictors of sentencing outcomes. Reasons for the different outcomes are explored, and topics requiring further exploration are discussed.
Sondra J. Fogel - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Rape, Race, and Capital Punishment: An Enduring Cultural Legacy of Lethal Vengeance?
Race and Justice, 2017Co-Authors: John K. Cochran, M. Dwayne Smith, Beth Bjerregaard, Christopher J. Marier, Wesley G. Jennings, Sondra J. FogelAbstract:Historical analyses of southern statutes (i.e., Slave Codes, Black Codes, “Jim Crow,” etc.) and their enforcement reveals evidence of an enduring cultural legacy prescribing lethal vengeance to Blacks who violate White sensibilities, especially for Black males accused of sexually assaulting White females. Using a population of official data on Capital Murder trials in North Carolina (1977–2009), this study examines the degree to which this cultural legacy endures to the present by examining the joint effects of offender’s race and rape/sexual assault on the Capital sentencing outcomes of Capital Murder trial involving White female victims. Our findings reveal support for the continuing endurance of this cultural legacy of lethal vengeance.
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Predictors of Death Sentencing for Minority, Equal, and Majority Female Juries in Capital Murder Trials
Women & Criminal Justice, 2016Co-Authors: Tara N. Richards, M. Dwayne Smith, Beth Bjerregaard, Joseph A. Cochran, Sondra J. FogelAbstract:The relatively small body of prior research investigating whether the sex composition of juries impacts sentencing decisions has produced equivocal results. Exploring this topic further, the current study used a large sample of Capital cases from North Carolina (n = 675) to examine (a) whether jury sex composition predicted jury Capital punishment sentencing decisions; and (b) whether there were different models of sentencing for male-majority, equal male-female, and female-majority juries. When we controlled for a number of legal and extralegal factors, our findings indicated that jury sex composition was independently related to sentencing outcomes. Specifically, equal male-female juries were significantly more likely and female-majority juries were significantly less likely to choose the death penalty versus a sentence of life in prison. In addition, different models (predictors) of sentencing were revealed for each of the jury sex compositions. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.
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When domestic goes Capital: juror decision making in Capital Murder trials involving domestic homicide
Law and human behavior, 2015Co-Authors: Tara N. Richards, M. Dwayne Smith, Sondra J. Fogel, Beth BjerregaardAbstract:Prior research suggests that homicide cases involving familial offenders and victims are subject to a "domestic discount" that reduces sentencing severity. However, the operation of a domestic discount in regard to death penalty sentencing has been rarely examined. The current research uses a near-population of jury decisions in Capital Murder trials conducted in North Carolina from 1991 to 2009 (n = 800), and a series of logistic regression analyses to determine whether there is (a) a direct effect between offender-victim relationship (e.g., domestic, friend/acquaintance, and stranger) and jury decision making, and/or (b) whether domestic offender-victim relationship (as well as other offender-victim relationships) moderates the effect of legal and extralegal case characteristics on jury assessment of the death penalty. Our findings revealed no empirical support for a "domestic discount" whereby juries are less likely to impose death sentences in cases involving domestic homicides. However, substantial differences in predictors of death sentencing were found across offender-victim dyads; most notably, domestic homicide cases demonstrated the most legalistic model of jury decisions to impose death sentences. (PsycINFO Database Record Language: en
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Alcohol and Drug Mitigation in Capital Murder Trials: Implications for Sentencing Decisions
Justice Quarterly, 2009Co-Authors: Beth Bjerregaard, M. Dwayne Smith, Sondra J. Fogel, Wilson R. PalaciosAbstract:Analyses of the impact on sentencing when alcohol and drug‐related mitigation is used in the sentencing phases of Capital Murder trials is virtually absent from the existing literature. The present study addresses this by exploring the effect of having mitigation with alcohol and drug themes accepted in a large sample (n = 804) of Capital Murder trials in North Carolina. Logistic regression analyses that include a number of relevant control variables reveal no substantive impacts of having alcohol mitigation accepted by Capital Murder juries, but drug mitigators that were either accepted or rejected by juries were associated with an increased risk of receiving a death sentence. Possible reasons for the results and their implications are discussed and suggestions are made for further study of the effects of alcohol/drug mitigation in Capital trials.
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The Interaction Between Victim Race and Gender on Sentencing Outcomes in Capital Murder Trials: A Further Exploration
Homicide Studies, 2006Co-Authors: Amy R. Stauffer, M. Dwayne Smith, Sondra J. Fogel, John K. Cochran, Beth BjerregaardAbstract:This study extends previous research on the interactive effects of victim race and gender on death sentence outcomes reported by Williams and Holcomb (2004). They report an interactive effect between victim race and victim gender on Ohio death sentencing outcomes, such that killers of White women are especially at risk of receiving death sentences. The study here seeks to determine if the Williams and Holcomb finding holds for a sample of Murder cases in North Carolina for which the state sought the death penalty. Initial results of a descriptive analysis suggest a White female victim effect, but the introduction of control variables via logistic regression equations yields no gender or race interactions as predictors of sentencing outcomes. Reasons for the different outcomes are explored, and topics requiring further exploration are discussed.
M. Dwayne Smith - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Rape, Race, and Capital Punishment: An Enduring Cultural Legacy of Lethal Vengeance?
Race and Justice, 2017Co-Authors: John K. Cochran, M. Dwayne Smith, Beth Bjerregaard, Christopher J. Marier, Wesley G. Jennings, Sondra J. FogelAbstract:Historical analyses of southern statutes (i.e., Slave Codes, Black Codes, “Jim Crow,” etc.) and their enforcement reveals evidence of an enduring cultural legacy prescribing lethal vengeance to Blacks who violate White sensibilities, especially for Black males accused of sexually assaulting White females. Using a population of official data on Capital Murder trials in North Carolina (1977–2009), this study examines the degree to which this cultural legacy endures to the present by examining the joint effects of offender’s race and rape/sexual assault on the Capital sentencing outcomes of Capital Murder trial involving White female victims. Our findings reveal support for the continuing endurance of this cultural legacy of lethal vengeance.
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Predictors of Death Sentencing for Minority, Equal, and Majority Female Juries in Capital Murder Trials
Women & Criminal Justice, 2016Co-Authors: Tara N. Richards, M. Dwayne Smith, Beth Bjerregaard, Joseph A. Cochran, Sondra J. FogelAbstract:The relatively small body of prior research investigating whether the sex composition of juries impacts sentencing decisions has produced equivocal results. Exploring this topic further, the current study used a large sample of Capital cases from North Carolina (n = 675) to examine (a) whether jury sex composition predicted jury Capital punishment sentencing decisions; and (b) whether there were different models of sentencing for male-majority, equal male-female, and female-majority juries. When we controlled for a number of legal and extralegal factors, our findings indicated that jury sex composition was independently related to sentencing outcomes. Specifically, equal male-female juries were significantly more likely and female-majority juries were significantly less likely to choose the death penalty versus a sentence of life in prison. In addition, different models (predictors) of sentencing were revealed for each of the jury sex compositions. Implications for future research and policy are discussed.
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When domestic goes Capital: juror decision making in Capital Murder trials involving domestic homicide
Law and human behavior, 2015Co-Authors: Tara N. Richards, M. Dwayne Smith, Sondra J. Fogel, Beth BjerregaardAbstract:Prior research suggests that homicide cases involving familial offenders and victims are subject to a "domestic discount" that reduces sentencing severity. However, the operation of a domestic discount in regard to death penalty sentencing has been rarely examined. The current research uses a near-population of jury decisions in Capital Murder trials conducted in North Carolina from 1991 to 2009 (n = 800), and a series of logistic regression analyses to determine whether there is (a) a direct effect between offender-victim relationship (e.g., domestic, friend/acquaintance, and stranger) and jury decision making, and/or (b) whether domestic offender-victim relationship (as well as other offender-victim relationships) moderates the effect of legal and extralegal case characteristics on jury assessment of the death penalty. Our findings revealed no empirical support for a "domestic discount" whereby juries are less likely to impose death sentences in cases involving domestic homicides. However, substantial differences in predictors of death sentencing were found across offender-victim dyads; most notably, domestic homicide cases demonstrated the most legalistic model of jury decisions to impose death sentences. (PsycINFO Database Record Language: en
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Alcohol and Drug Mitigation in Capital Murder Trials: Implications for Sentencing Decisions
Justice Quarterly, 2009Co-Authors: Beth Bjerregaard, M. Dwayne Smith, Sondra J. Fogel, Wilson R. PalaciosAbstract:Analyses of the impact on sentencing when alcohol and drug‐related mitigation is used in the sentencing phases of Capital Murder trials is virtually absent from the existing literature. The present study addresses this by exploring the effect of having mitigation with alcohol and drug themes accepted in a large sample (n = 804) of Capital Murder trials in North Carolina. Logistic regression analyses that include a number of relevant control variables reveal no substantive impacts of having alcohol mitigation accepted by Capital Murder juries, but drug mitigators that were either accepted or rejected by juries were associated with an increased risk of receiving a death sentence. Possible reasons for the results and their implications are discussed and suggestions are made for further study of the effects of alcohol/drug mitigation in Capital trials.
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The Interaction Between Victim Race and Gender on Sentencing Outcomes in Capital Murder Trials: A Further Exploration
Homicide Studies, 2006Co-Authors: Amy R. Stauffer, M. Dwayne Smith, Sondra J. Fogel, John K. Cochran, Beth BjerregaardAbstract:This study extends previous research on the interactive effects of victim race and gender on death sentence outcomes reported by Williams and Holcomb (2004). They report an interactive effect between victim race and victim gender on Ohio death sentencing outcomes, such that killers of White women are especially at risk of receiving death sentences. The study here seeks to determine if the Williams and Holcomb finding holds for a sample of Murder cases in North Carolina for which the state sought the death penalty. Initial results of a descriptive analysis suggest a White female victim effect, but the introduction of control variables via logistic regression equations yields no gender or race interactions as predictors of sentencing outcomes. Reasons for the different outcomes are explored, and topics requiring further exploration are discussed.
