The Role of Death Qualification in Jurors' Susceptibility to Pretrial Publicity1

Abstract

Two hundred residents of Florida's 12thJudicial Circuit completed questions measuring participants' level of death‐penalty support, death‐qualification status, knowledge of the facts surrounding an actual capital case, and attitudes toward the defendant in the aforementioned capital case. Results indicated that death‐qualified participants were better able to correctly identify the defendant, recognize most of the factual details of the case, think that the defendant was guilty, and recommend the death penalty. In addition, death‐qualified jurors were more likely to feel that the pretrial publicity surrounding the case would have minimal impact on the defendant's right to due process. Legal applications and implications are discussed.