Stress and the Capital Jury: How Male and Female Jurors React to Serving on a Murder Trial

Abstract

Previous research findings gathered by the Capital Jury Project showed that many jurors who served on capital murder trials experienced significant stress and suffered extreme emotional setbacks. The present analysis extends these findings by focusing on gender-specific variations in responses given by male and female jurors as revealed through extensive in-depth interviews. Findings from structured questions and juror narrative accounts about psychological and physical suffering revealed that more females than males reported generalized fear, felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness or isolation, and experienced a significant loss of appetite during the trial. While male and female jurors both mentioned becoming emotionally upset about the crime-scene evidence and trial testimony, experienced sleeping problems, and started using prescription drugs or illicit substances, these issues were discussed more often by females.