Examination of the Death Penalty: Public Opinion of a Northeast Tennessee University Student Sample.
Degree Name
MA (Master of Arts)
Program
Criminal Justice and Criminology
Date of Award
12-2010
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
John T. Whitehead
Committee Members
Steven J. Ellwanger, Wayne Gillespie
Abstract
How society views the use of the death penalty as a means of punishment greatly affects the decisions of lawmakers, politicians who use it as a platform for election, and the criminals who commit the crime of murder. This study used 40 different vignettes involving real-life murder scenarios in order for participants to form a more precise opinion of what the correct punishment for the crime should be. Given a choice between the death penalty, life without the possibility of parole, a prison term of their choosing, or other, participants were asked to assign a sanction for each vignette. Respondents were asked to answer demographic questions about themselves in order for these variables to be regressed to examine how their status relates to their opinion of the death penalty as a punishment for murder. Statistical analysis showed income level, political affiliation, and religious affiliation to be significant variables. Analysis of the vignettes themselves revealed substantial variation in individual's willingness to apply the death penalty across various types of murder.
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
Burgason, Kyle Aaron, "Examination of the Death Penalty: Public Opinion of a Northeast Tennessee University Student Sample." (2010). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1744. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1744
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.