Mechanisms of moral disengagement in capital juror decision making: An empirical examination

The objective of the present research was to provide for the first comprehensive empirical analysis of the role of mechanisms of moral disengagement in the decision making processes of capital jurors. To this end, a theoretical model incorporating capital trial procedure (instruction comprehension), case characteristics (defendant culpability), juror individual difference characteristics, and various race-related variables (defendant-victim racial dyad; presence of Black male juror; presence of five or more White male jurors) was analyzed. A goal of these analyses was to pursue a test of the relationship between moral disengagement and capital sentencing decisions. In addition, primary objectives of the analyses were to explore both potential antecedents of moral disengagement, and also the possible role of moral disengagement as a mediator in the relationships between other model constructs and jurors' penalty phase decisions.;Data derived from interviews with jurors by the Capital Jury Project were used to analyze the proposed theoretical model. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis techniques were employed to estimate the model and the relationships between the respective model constructs and juror pre-deliberation sentencing position. Results revealed moral disengagement was characterized by a single-factor structure in the best-fitting model. In addition, instruction miscomprehension and defendant culpability were significantly associated with the moral disengagement latent construct. Juror religion and socioeconomic status (SES) were also significantly related to moral disengagement.;As hypothesized, there was a significant direct relationship between the moral disengagement construct and juror pre-deliberation sentencing position. Analyses also revealed moral disengagement to be an intermediary mechanism underlying the relationships between numerous model constructs and juror sentencing decisions. More specifically, the relationships of instruction miscomprehension, defendant culpability, and juror religion and SES with pre-deliberation sentencing position were all fully mediated by moral disengagement.;Jury racial composition and defendant-victim racial dyad variables represented two areas of the theoretical model not supported by the analyses. Presence of a Black male juror and presence of five or more White male jurors were not significantly related to either moral disengagement or sentencing decisions. In addition, the relationships within the conditional indirect effects framework involving the defendant-victim racial dyad variable were not found to be a significant. Limitations of the research, contributions of the results to the current body of literature, and implications of the findings are discussed.