RAPID: Impact of Changing Death Penalty Unanimity Requirements on Case Decisions

佛罗里达州最近宣布立法，将修改陪审团死刑判决要求。具体来说，虽然以前陪审团必须一致建议判处死刑，而不是终身监禁，但新规则只要求12名陪审员中的多数8人投票赞成死刑，就可以建议判处死刑。虽然先前的研究表明，可以预见的是，死刑判决更有可能在多数同意原则下作出，而不是在一致同意原则下作出，但量刑决定规则与审前决策（例如，接受辩诉交易）之间的关系不太清楚。人们可能会认为，减少提出死刑建议所需的陪审员人数，从而增加死刑判决的可能性，将增加接受辩诉交易的数量。然而，有理论上的理由相信，相反的情况可能会发生。不同的决策理论会争论审前决定转向非一致同意的不同影响，一些理论认为辩诉交易被接受的数量会减少，一些理论认为辩诉交易被接受的数量会增加。与此特别相关的是审判阴影理论和前景理论，随着死刑风险的增加，它们做出了相反的预测。拟议的研究旨在澄清我们对一致同意规则对审前决定的影响的理论和现实世界的理解。具体来说，我们将收集佛罗里达州一级谋杀案件的真实数据，包括在几个月后拟议的改变生效之前和之后。通过这项研究获得的知识直接影响法律行为者的决定，包括辩护律师和检察官。重要的是要在所有阶段跟踪立法变化对法律制度的影响，因为这可以为其他可能正在考虑类似变化的司法管辖区作出的决定提供信息。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Florida recently announced legislation that will revise jury death penalty sentencing requirements. Specifically, while previously a jury had to be unanimous to recommend a death sentence versus a sentence of life without parole, the new rule requires only a majority eight of 12 jurors to vote for death to recommend the death penalty. Although research has previously shown that, predictably, death penalty decisions are more likely under a majority rule than a unanimity rule, the relationship between the sentencing decision rule and pre-trial decision-making (e.g., accepting a plea bargain) is less clear. One might assume that lowering the number of jurors required for a recommendation of death, thereby making a death sentence more likely, would increase the number of plea bargains accepted. However, there are theoretical reasons to believe that the opposite might happen. Different theories of decision-making would argue for different impacts of a shift to non-unanimity on pre-trial decisions, with some arguing for a decrease in plea bargains accepted and some an increase in plea bargains accepted. Of particular relevance here are Shadow of the Trial theory and Prospect Theory, which make opposite predictions as the risk of a death sentence increases. The proposed study seeks to clarify our theoretical and real-world understanding of the impact of unanimity rules on pre-trial decisions. Specifically, we will gather real-world data on first-degree murder cases in the state of Florida both before and after the proposed change goes into effect in a few months. The knowledge gained through this research directly informs decisions made by legal actors, including defense attorneys and prosecutors. It is important to track the impact of legislative changes on the legal system at all stages, as this can inform decisions made in other jurisdictions that may be considering similar changes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.