Impact of husband's and wife's alcohol use on juror perceptions of a woman who killed her abusive husband

Author

Chelsea Aileen Lawson

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Jacquin, Kristine

Committee Member

Eakin, Deborah

Committee Member

Armstrong, Kevin

Date of Degree

8-6-2011

Original embargo terms

MSU Only Indefinitely

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Campus Access Only

Major

Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Psychology

Abstract

The current study was based on Hester and Jacquin’s (2011) study of juror bias in a trial in which a woman killed her abusive husband. Specifically, this study examined the influence of the husband’s alcohol use, the wife’s alcohol use, the wife’s diagnosis, and evidence of domestic violence on mock jurors (N = 518). Results indicated that the wife’s alcohol use impacted her negatively at trial. When she was intoxicated, jurors perceived her to be more to blame for her actions and for the abuse she received from her husband. Gender differences were present among mock jurors; females gave lower guilt ratings than males, suggesting that females sympathized with the female defendant.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/16323

Recommended Citation

Lawson, Chelsea Aileen, "Impact of husband's and wife's alcohol use on juror perceptions of a woman who killed her abusive husband" (2011). Theses and Dissertations. 2593.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/2593