Effects of Sex and Race of Perpetrator

8/14/2019 Effects of Sex and Race of Perpetrator

1/22

2395

Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 2006, 36, 10, pp. 23952416.r 2006 Copyright the Authors

Journal compilation r 2006 Blackwell Publishing, Inc.

Effects of Sex and Race of Perpetrator and Method of Killing

on Outcome Judgments in a Mock Filicide Case

KERRI F. DUNN

Claremont McKenna College

GLORIA COWAN1 AND DANIEL DOWNS

California State University, San Bernardino

The present study examined college student mock jurors judgments of legal in-

sanity, outcome severity, and death-penalty decisions in a filicide case. The sex and

race of perpetrator (Black or White) and method of killing (shooting or smothering)

were varied in a between-subjects design. A 3-way interaction was found for out-

come severity, supporting Jones & Davis (1965) attributional principle of stronger

dispositional attributions for unexpected behaviors. As predicted, White women

were judged more severely when they used a gun compared to when they smothered,

whereas White men were judged more severely when they smothered compared to

when they used a gun. The most severe judgments were made for Black male

perpetrators who used a gun. Results are discussed in terms of sex and racial

stereotypes.

Few acts invoke such horror as the death of a child at the hands of a

parent. Although filicide has been used as a generic term to describe the

killing of children by parents (Stanton & Simpson, 2002), distinct classifi-

cations such as neonicide, infanticide (Adinkrah, 2001), early filicide, and late

filicide (Sadoff, 1995) have been made based on the age of child at the time

of the killing. Fairly clear and distinct mental state and motivational pat-

terns have been proposed for the neonaticidal and infanticidal mother (Sa-

doff, 1995). However, the profiles of mothers who kill at later ages and

fathers who kill in general are much more speculative and unclear (Sadoff,

1995).

The present study focuses on early filicide perpetrators (1 to 9 years) and

is concerned with mock jurors judgments of responsibility, via the affirm-

ative defense of not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI), and sentencing

decisions. In particular, we examine the effects of sex and race of perpe-

trators who use different methods of killing their children on mock jurors

1Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Gloria Cowan, Departmentof Psychology, California State UniversitySan Bernardino, 5500 University Parkway, SanBernardino, CA 92407. E-mail: [email protected]


2/22

assessments of legal insanity, severity of sentencing,2 and death-penalty

decisions. Moreover, we examine some of the perceived motivational, ag-

gravating, and mitigating factors that jurors may impute to a parent who

kills his or her children.

Research has indicated that jurors come to the courtroom bearing com-

monsense notions of justice and fairness (Finkel, 1995, 1997; Finkel &

Groscup, 1997; Finkel & Sales, 1997). Although the exact nature of how

these attitudes and beliefs operate has not yet been modeled conclusively,

there is ample research to indicate that jurors bring a multitude of myths

(Perlin, 1990), prototypes (Finkel & Groscup, 1997; Smith & Studebaker,

1996), heuristics (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974), and stereotypes (Stalans &

Diamond, 1990) to court with them. If jurors arrive at trial with precon-

ceived notions about the circumstances that surround filicide, then there

would seem to be a good chance that their decisions, at least at times, would

be affected by such preconceptions (Finkel, Burke, & Chavez, 2000).

The media generally have given extensive coverage to maternal filicides

(Simpson & Stanton, 2000), yet few cases of paternal filicide come to mind

quickly. Although far from conclusive, research in the area of maternal

filicide is more extensive than in the area of paternal filicide (Adinkrah,

2001; dOrban, 1979; Marleau, Poulin, Webanck, Roy, & Laporte, 1999;

McKee & Shea, 1998; Resnick, 1969; Stanton & Simpson, 2002; Wilczynski,

1995, 1997).

This increased attention to maternal filicide may stem from the percep-

tion that women kill their children more frequently than do men. Although

there is conflicting research on this particular issue (Adinkrah, 2001;

Vanamo, Kauppi, Karkola, Merikanto, & Ra sa nen, 2001), some research

has indicated that women are more likely than men to be perpetrators of

neonaticide and infanticide (McKee & Shea, 1998). However, other research

has indicated that as the childs age increases, so does the likelihood that the

parental perpetrator will be male (Adinkrah, 2001; Bourget & Bradford,1990; Copeland, 1985; Resnick, 1969). Moreover, some statistics have in-

dicated that, in general, filicide is as likely to be committed by a father as by

a mother (Wilczynski & Morris, 1993). These conflicting data likely are

related to differences in the age group of the victim being studied, as well as

the composition of the perpetrating group. For example, it is possible that if

stepfathers and boyfriends were included regularly in all filicide analyses, the

number of paternal filicides actually might exceed maternal filicide.

2Although we acknowledge that jurors in real cases (with the exception of death-penaltycases) do not administer sentencing decisions, we consider our sentencing decisions to be liketypical attitude measures, measuring general attitudes toward perpetrators (e.g., Dienstbieret al., 1998).

2396 DUNN ET AL.


3/22

Given this conflicting evidence and the possibility that paternal filicide is

at least as likely to occur as maternal filicide (at least within certain age

ranges; Wilczynski & Morris, 1993), why has media coverage of maternal

filicide been so extensive (Simpson & Stanton, 2000), while coverage of

paternal filicide is less frequent or, at least, more truncated? One explanation

may be related to normative views of aggression. In general, women are

believed to be less aggressive than men, and womens aggression has tended

to be ignored (White & Kowalski, 1998). However, Campbell (1999) argued

that when women are aggressive, their aggressive behaviors are stigmatized

as unnatural. For example, it also has been argued that women are viewed as

out of place in the criminal justice system (Worrall, 1981). Therefore, crimes

committed by women tend to be pathologized more than crimes committed

by men (Wilczynski, 1997).

Additionally, the female stereotype of woman as mother may drive soci-

etal expectations that women are maternal and nurturing (Caplan, 2000;

Russo, 1976). That is, women are expected to have the intrinsic ability and

desire to raise, love, and nurture children. Moreover, according to this

motherhood mandate, motherhood is central to the definition of the adult

female in society (Russo, 1976). This mandate requires that women not only

have children, but raise them well. Fine and Carney (2001) argued that

women are more likely than men to be assigned individual responsibility for

the welfare of their children and also are charged with failure to protect their

children more than are men.

This analysis has been supported by research in other areas as well, such

as police reports of violent crime committed by women. For example, in an

archival study of data collected in Canada by Silverman and Kennedy

(1988), only 6% of women who killed their spouses were labeled by the

police as having a mental illness, whereas 67% of the mothers who com-

mitted filicide were labeled mentally ill on police reports. Although these

data reflect the perceptions of police officers, rather than jurors or mockjurors, they do indicate that women who kill their children may be perceived

to be mentally ill. That is, since the motherhood mandate suggests that

women are endless fountains of nurturance (Caplan & Caplan, 1999; Russo,

1976), a woman who kills her own children is violating the stereotype of

femininity by expressing violent behaviors that are both unexpected and

unaccepted within the framework of traditional femininity. Women who

commit filicide, therefore, are seen as compromising and ultimately rejecting

the role that society expects them to maintain.

Given the higher perceived prevalence of mothers killing their childrenthan fathers, the stigmatization of female criminals as mentally ill, and the

strong normative dictate that women be good mothers, would maternal

filicide perpetrators be judged differently from paternal filicide perpetrators?

SEX, RACE, AND METHOD OF KILLING IN FILICIDE 2397


4/22

Despite factors suggesting that female perpetrators of filicide would be

judged more harshly than male perpetrators, archival research indicates that

women are acquitted more often for the crime of filicide than are men

(Armstrong, 1999; Lymburner & Roesch, 1999). Some archival research also

indicates that women are more likely to use a psychiatric plea and to be dealt

with through the use of informal, treatment-oriented methods, whereas men

tend to receive more custodial sentences (Wilczynski, 1997). However, these

data were collected in Great Britain and may not generalize to psychiatric

pleas in the United States.

Notwithstanding differences attributed to culture, the maternal role

generally would hold women to be more responsible than the paternal role

would for men. Thus, this determination as demonstrated in actual filicide

cases may be mitigated by judgments of mental illness and, ultimately, legal

insanity. Because women who kill their children are violating two strong

cultural norms (i.e., women as nonaggressive/noncriminal, and women as

nurturers), we predict that mock jurors will judge female perpetrators of

filicide to be legally insane more often than male perpetrators of filicide.

A factor that may be related to the disposition of male and female filicide

perpetrators in the criminal justice system may be the method of killing.

Some laboratory research has found that when weapons are involved in

crimes (holding all crime attributes constant), mock jurors tend to render

sentences that are more severe (Dienstbier et al., 1998). Therefore, we also

might expect to see a decrease in perceptions of responsibility based on legal

insanity dispositions, and an increase in severity of sentences for those con-

victed, regardless of sex, when guns are used, compared to smothering.

Women who kill their children tend to use more passive means (poison-

ing, smothering, drowning, gassing, suffocation), compared to men who kill

their children (stabbing, striking, squeezing, shooting; Lewis, Baranoski,

Buchanan, & Benedek, 1998; Resnick, 1969; Silverman & Kennedy, 1988).

Thus, type of outcome (insanity acquittal vs. sentence imposed) in cases inwhich women kill their children may be a function of both the method used

and the sex of the perpetrator.

We propose that judgments of outcome in filicide cases should vary as a

function of a combination of the sex of the perpetrator and the method of

killing. Specifically, when filicide is committed by sex-role-inconsistent

means, we expect that jurors will assign more severe outcomes. This pre-

diction is derived from Jones and Davis (1965) attributional theory of cor-

respondent inference. This model suggests that unexpected, out-of-role, and

norm-inconsistent behaviors lead to more extreme judgments. Becausewomen using guns and men smothering are sex-role incongruousFthat is,

they are less common (Resnick, 1969) and more unexpectedFwe expect

sentences to be harsher in these conditions.

2398 DUNN ET AL.


5/22

These Sex Method predictions may apply only when the perpetrator is

White not Black. Little research has explored the role of race as a factor in

either maternal or paternal filicides in the United States. In a study of 20

adult women who were referred to a forensic psychiatric hospital after being

charged with murdering their children, McKee and Shea (1998) found that

55% of their sample were Black and 45% were White. Another study of the

profile of parents who killed their children (under 6 years of age) in Detroit,

Michigan between 1982 and 1986 indicated that approximately 92% were

Black. Although the Black population in Detroit exceeds 80% (Profiling

46,000 Cities, 2000), these findings suggest that, regardless of population

statistics, Blacks do commit filicide.

Despite these statistics, more attention seems to be given to the White

woman filicidal perpetrator than any other Sex Race combination.

Thus, another question that arises is whether racial characteristics of filicidal

perpetrators may affect mock juridical decision making, either indepen-

dently or in combination with the sex of the perpetrator and the method

of killing.

As previously noted, research has indicated that jurors bring a vast array

of stereotypes and myths to the courtroom. Racial stereotypes, in particular,

have been found to influence judgments of guilt and sentencing (Boden-

hausen, 1990; Dunn, Willis-Esqueda, & Schopp, 1998) and are related to

harsher treatment of minority men within the legal system (Gorden, 1993;

Gorden, Bindrim, McNicholas, & Walden, 1988; Willis-Esqueda & Swan-

son, 1997). These stronger responsibility assignments and the overall

harsher treatment of minority males in the criminal justice system are con-

sistent with media presentations of crime that frequently link violent crime

to Blacks and Hispanics (Oliver, 1994). Moreover, these associations

serve to reinforce further the stereotypes of minority mens criminality

(Willis-Esqueda, 1997).

Given the strong associative link between African American men andviolent crime, the question thus arises as to whether Black men will be

treated more harshly for the crime of filicide despite the greater attention

given to White female perpetrators in filicidal cases. There are two possi-

bilities that may be posited regarding the effects involving perpetrator race.

First, one could expect that jurors will render more severe sentences for

Black men who use a gun than any other combination of sex, race, and

method. This outcome would be based on stereotypes involving Black men

and violent crime, as well as prior research indicating that such stereotypes

are linked to harsher responsibility, guilt, and sentencing assignments(Bodenhausen, 1990; Dunn et al., 1998; Willis-Esqueda & Swanson, 1997).

The tendency for Black men to be judged more severely than White men

or women in general should override the alternative expectation based on



6/22

correspondent inference theory (Jones & Davis, 1965). Second, based on

attribution theory (Jones & Davis, 1965), Black men who smother should

receive harsher sentences than Black men who use a gun because of the

stereotype-inconsistent method involved.

In light of the stereotypes and expectations associated with the sex of

filicide perpetrators, as well as the race of violent criminals in general, the

current study explores the effect of sex, race, and method of killing on

insanity judgments and sentencing severity in cases of early filicide (where

the children are under 6 years of age). In summary, we expect that college

students serving as mock jurors will make different judgments about the

sanity of perpetrators based on their sex. Specifically, we expect female

perpetrators to be found NGRI more often than male perpetrators. More-

over, we expect that the sex of the perpetrator will interact with method of

killing such that individuals who use sex-inconsistent methods of killing will

be sentenced more harshly. We further expect that Black men who shoot will

receive the harshest sentence and will be more likely to be given the death

penalty than any other perpetrator-method combination.

A final consideration is the role of jurors. Although a clear pattern of sex

differences among jurors has not been identified, sex does seem to be linked

with verdicts in rape and battered-women cases (Ellsworth & Mauro, 1998).

Thus, given the societal norm of women as mothers, female jurors may react

more negatively than male jurors to the killing of a child. Thus, we examine

the effect of the sex of jurors on outcome severity.

Method

Design and Participants

The study design was a 2 (Sex of Perpetrator) 2 (Method of Killing:gunshot or smothering) 2 (Race of Perpetrator: White or Black) between-

subjects, fully crossed factorial design. Participants were 238 undergraduate

students (149 female, 88 male, 1 who did not indicate gender), recruited from

a state university in southern California, with a mean age of 27 years

(SD5 8.82), and who participated in exchange for course credit.

The racial composition of participants, which reflects the demographics

of the surrounding population more generally, was as follows: 40% White,

28% Hispanic, 18% Black, 5% Asian, 3% American Indian, and 6%

Other. Regarding socioeconomic characteristics of the sample, meanfamily income fell between $30,000 and $40,000.

Participants volunteered by taking questionnaires that had been coun-

terbalanced by condition from the Human Subjects Volunteer Bulletin

2400 DUNN ET AL.


7/22

Board and returning them to a central location. Each of the eight cells

contained from 29 to 31 participants.

Materials and Procedure

Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire that contained an

informed consent, a demographic questionnaire, a fact sheet describing the

filicide case, and jury instructions. The stimulus packet contained a one-page

fact pattern detailing a filicide case and a series of 7-point Likert-type

questions regarding motives for the filicide, potential aggravators and mi-

tigators of the crime, characteristics of the crime and perpetrator circum-

stances of the crime, as well as outcome judgments.

Prior to reading details of the filicide, mock jurors were told that the

perpetrator had killed his or her children and that the facts of the case

followed. In the scenario, the perpetrator was described as either the wife

(Michelle Jackson) or the husband (Sam Jackson), and as either Black or

White.

Next, details of the events preceding the filicide were outlined. The sce-

nario began with a couple that was experiencing marital problems 8 years

into their marriage when their financial situation became troublesome.

Multiple interpretations were offered for the motive of the killing, and they

occurred in the following order: (a) the couple was described as experiencing

financial difficulty; (b) the nonperpetrating spouse was experiencing stress

and drifting away from the family; (c) the perpetrator saw a psychiatrist for

antidepressants; (d) the spouse suggested a separation, filed for divorce, and

was seeking full custody of the children; (e) an attorney informed the per-

petrator that the chances of custody were equivocal; (f) a neighbor called

Child Protective Services (CPS) on the perpetrator, suggesting that the

children were being neglected; (g) the perpetrator purchased a life-insurancepolicy on the children from a door-to-door salesman; and (h) the perpetrator

made an attempt at suicide and was hospitalized for anxiety and depression.

Finally, upon release from the hospital, the perpetrator killed the three

children.

The description regarding the method of killing was one of two scenarios:

Sam (Michelle) took a long look at the children and then proceeded to kill

each child, one at a time shooting them with a gun at point-blank range or

smothering them with a pillow. The fact pattern left no doubt that the

parent had killed the children. Thus, guilt was not an issue in this case.Rather, we focused on responsibility (via NGRI) and sentencing severity.

A brief description of the trial included conflicting expert evidence

regarding insanity. Specifically, the prosecutor called a psychiatrist who



8/22

testified that the perpetrator was able to appreciate right from wrong at the

time of the killing, whereas the defense psychiatrist testified that the per-

petrator actually suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was not able to

appreciate that killing the children was wrong.

Following the presentation of the case, participants were asked three

questions that served to evaluate the effectiveness of the manipulations.

Specifically, they were asked what the sex, race, and method of killing

were in their specific scenario. All participants correctly answered these

questions.

Next, participants were asked to respond to questions on a 7-point scale

ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). These items assessed

participants perceptions of potential motives for the killing. These motives

include mental illness, financial gain, lying in wait, spousal revenge, des-

peration, and not wanting the children.

Perceived characteristics of the crime and perpetrator also were assessed

via 7-point questions. These items examined perceived heinousness, violence,

and deliberateness of the crime; as well as sympathy for the perpetrator.

These items also were used to assess mock jurors consideration of these

circumstances as potential mitigators and aggravators of the crime for sen-

tencing and death-penalty decisions.

The two primary dependent measuresF

legal insanity and sentencing

decisionFwere introduced first via a description of the criteria for judg-

ments of legal insanity according to California Jury Instructions, Criminal

(California Jury Instructions, Criminal [CALJIC], 1993). The instructions

conformed to the MNaghten standard of proof, which is generally con-

sidered the more conservative of the two most common insanity pleas (e.g.,

MNaghten v. The American Law Institute [ALI] Model penal code, 1962,

y4.01; Borum & Fulero, 1999). The instructions read, in part, A person is

insane if he or she is incapable of knowing or understanding the nature and

quality of his or her act [or] of distinguishing right from wrong at the time ofthe commission of the offense (CALJIC, 1993, pp. 141-142). The instruc-

tions further indicated that mental illness and legal insanity are not nec-

essarily the same dispositions. Participants then were asked to judge whether

the perpetrator was legally insane or not legally insane.

Participants who checked not legally insane were next given sentencing

instructions (CALJIC, 1993). These instructions indicated that the mock

jurors should consider (or weigh) the existence of any special circumstances

(i.e., financial gain, lying in wait, multiple murders), as well as whether the

crime was committed while the defendant was under mental duress. More-over, they were to consider whether the defendant suffered a mental disease

that affected his or her ability to appreciate the criminality of his or her

actions, or to conform his or her conduct to the requirements of the law.

2402 DUNN ET AL.


9/22

Finally, participants were instructed that they may consider any other

extenuating factor or sympathetic aspect of the defendants character. Jurors

then were asked to choose between life in prison with the possibility of

parole in 25 years (LWP), life in prison without the possibility of parole

(LWOP), or the death penalty.3

The analysis used three dependent measures. First, the dichotomous

measure of legal insanity was used. Second, the insanity decision was com-

bined with the alternative life-sentencing decisions (LWP or LWOP) and the

death-penalty option to form a four-item outcome-severity decision. The

decision to combine what is technically a guilt disposition (i.e., the insanity

variable) with the other sentencing dispositions was made for both meth-

odological and substantive reasons.

From a methodological perspective, the creation of a four-level outcome

measure is associated with increased variance and, therefore, is generally a

more sensitive measure. Our intention was to assess jurors perceptions of

the responsibility level of different perpetrators of filicide, and an NGRI

outcome technically negates the perpetrators responsibility and renders ac-

quittees ineligible for criminal sanctions (Borum & Fulero, 1999).

Research has indicated that public perception of insanity acquittees is

that they simply go free (Borum & Fulero, 1999). Therefore, NGRI sits at

the low end of the ultimate outcome measure (which we termed outcome

severity), whereas death sits at the high end. The third measure that was used

was a dichotomous death-penalty measure that assessed the death-penalty

decision versus the two other life-sentencing decisions (combining LWP and

LWOP).

Results

Across conditions, 48 (20%) out of 238 participants rated the perpetrator

to be insane, 62 (26%) sentenced the perpetrator to life with parole, and 88(37%) sentenced the perpetrator to life without parole. The remaining 40

(17%) participants designated the death penalty as a sentence.

Sex and Insanity

We first tested the hypothesis that women would be judged legally insane

more often than men for killing their children. A simple chi-square analysis

was conducted to determine if mock jurors differentially rated male and

3We are mindful that death-penalty cases are much more complex than other cases. Forexample, death-penalty cases require death qualification of jurors, and jurors are permitted tomake sentencing decisions. Here again, we use the death penalty as a measure of outcomeseverity, rather than a measure of willingness to execute per se.



10/22

female perpetrators of filicide to be insane. Contrary to our hypothesis, the

results indicated no difference in insanity ratings as a function of sex of the

perpetrator, w2(1, N5238)50.85, p4 .05. In addition, no other variables

alone or in combination with one another affected the insanity ratings

(ps4 .05).

Method of Killing and Sentencing

We next tested the hypothesis that the method of killingFinvolving a

gun compared to smotheringFwould be related to outcome severity, re-

gardless of sex of the perpetrator. An ANOVA was calculated using methodas the independent measure and outcome severity as the dependent measure.

Results of method of killing on outcome reveal that participants did not

assign jurors different outcomes based on the use of a gun versus manual

smothering, F(1, 236)50.07, p4 .05.

Interactions

We examined the interactive relationships of sex of the perpetrator,

method of killing, race of perpetrator, and sex of juror on outcome severity.

We thus addressed two hypotheses; namely, the prediction that perpetrators

who use sex-inconsistent means of killing would receive harsher outcomes

than those who use sex-consistent means, and the hypothesis that Black men

who use a gun would receive harsher outcomes (particularly more death

sentences) than any other combination of sex, race, and method.

A logistic regression was calculated to assess the relationship of the four

predictor variables (sex of perpetrator, race, method of killing, and sex of

juror) on the dichotomized measure of death-penalty decisions. The results

indicate that neither the overall model, w2(1, 12)50.09, p4 .05, nor thepredictors entered independently or in combination with one another sig-

nificantly contributed to the model (ps4 .05) to predict mock jurors death-

penalty decisions.

A 2 (Sex of Perpetrator) 2 (Race of Perpetrator) 2 (Method of

Killing) 2 (Sex of Juror) ANOVA was calculated on the four-level out-

come variable (ranging from insanity to death penalty). The results indicate a

three-way interaction between race of perpetrator, sex of perpetrator, and

method, F(1, 222)54.12, po .05. Separate two-way interactions of method

and sex of perpetrator for Black and White perpetrators were not significant(ps4 .05). Thus, it was the overall pattern, not the separate two-way in-

teractions, that contributed to the effect. As Figures 1 and 2 indicate, this

relationship was a doubly crossed interaction.

2404 DUNN ET AL.


11/22

The hypothesis of outcome severity based on sex-inconsistent methodswas supported for White perpetrators, yet it was not supported for Black

perpetrators, although none of the eight means differed significantly from

one another (ps4 .05). However, White women who used a gun (M51.85)

tended to be treated more harshly than White women who smothered

(M51.31), whereas White men who smothered (M51.60) received slightly

harsher outcomes than did White men who used a gun (M51.21).

This pattern was different for Black perpetrators and provided tentative

support for our hypothesis regarding Black men. That is, Black men who

used a gun tended to be treated more harshly (M51.94) than Black menwho smothered (M51.46), whereas Black women who smothered

(M51.43) were treated more harshly than were Black women who used a

gun (M51.09). Furthermore, the means for Black men who used a gun

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

Gun Smothering

Method of Killing

OutcomeSeverity White Male

Perpetrator

White Female

Perpetrator

Figure 1. Outcome severity means for White perpetrator.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Gun Smothering

Method of Killing

OutcomeSeverity

Black Male

Perpetrator

Black Female

Perpetrator

Figure 2. Outcome severity means for Black perpetrator.



12/22

were higher (indicating a more severe outcome) than they were for any other

combination of Race Sex Method, with the exception of White

women.

This analysis did not indicate any other main effects, two-way interac-

tions, or four-way interactions for sentencing. Thus, although we had ex-

pected sex of juror to be a factor in outcome decisions, no such relationship

was found.

Intercorrelations: Outcomes by Gender and Race of Perpetrator

Two sets of correlations were calculated to assess the relationship be-

tween the primary dependent measures and possible motives, aggravators,

mitigators, and characteristics of the crime and the perpetrator. These were

calculated for both the sample as a whole and for each of the Sex Per-

petrator Race combinations: White men, White women, Black men, and

Black women. Table 1 contains the overall correlations across all conditions.

Overall, insanity judgments were associated positively with mental illness,

mercy killing, and sympathy for the perpetrator; and negatively associated

with spousal revenge. Although mental illness was associated with judg-

ments of insanity, it should be noted that neither sex of the perpetrator nor

race of the perpetrator was associated with perceptions of mental illness

(sex, r5 .04, p4 .05; race, r5 - .04, p4 .05) or with insanity decisions.

Aggravating factors were correlated positively with the four-item out-

come variable and the dichotomous death-penalty variable. That is, partic-

ipants who were more likely to believe the killing was for financial gain, for

spousal revenge, heinous, deliberate, or occurred when the parent was lying

in wait assigned harsher outcomes. Similarly, financial gain, lying in wait,

and deliberation were associated with the assignment of more death-penalty

sentences. Finally, sympathy for the perpetrator and mental illness of theperpetrator were associated with less harsh outcomes and lower death-

sentencing rates for the perpetrator.

Table 2 contains the Race Sex correlations between the various out-

come measures (insanity, outcome severity, death penalty) and the motives

and characteristics of the crime and perpetrators (which might be viewed

also as aggravators and mitigators). Mental illness and sympathy for the

perpetrator (factors that might mitigate the crime) similarly were associated

with the insanity and outcome-severity variables for all four groups. With

respect to the insanity variable, sympathy for the perpetrator and mentalillness consistently predicted higher insanity ratings for all groups, except

that mental illness was not associated with insanity for Black women.

Moreover, sympathy for the perpetrator and mental illness were associated

2406 DUNN ET AL.


13/22

Table1

Correlation

sBetweenOutcomeMeasures,Motives,andAttrib

utesoftheCrimeAcross

AllConditions

Mental

illness

Financial

gain

Lying

inwait

Spouse

revengeDesperate

Children

not

w

anted

Mercy

killingHeinous

ViolentDeliberateSymp

athy

Insanity

.297

.078

.089

-.234

.025

.080

.147

.094

-.060

.105

.41

0

Outcome

severity

-.371

.190

.188

.244

.037

.073

-.137

.186

.044

.167

-.45

4

Lifevs.

death

penalty

-.178

.173

.222

.127

.039

.107

-.080

.077

.051

.162

-.19

5

Note.Desperate5

perpetratorfeltdesp

erate;Deliberate5

murders

weredeliberate;Sympathy

5

sympathyforperpetrator.For

insanityandlifevs.

death-penaltyjudgments,

higherscoresindicateinsanityanddeathpenalty.

po

.05.po

.01.



14/22

Table2

Correlation

sBetweenOutcomeMeasures,Motives,andAttributesoftheCrimeforVariousCategoriesofPerpetrators

G

ender/

raceof

perp

Mental

illness

Financial

gain

Lying

inwait

Spouse

revenge

Desperat

e

Children

not

wanted

Mercy

killing

HeinousViolentDeliberate

Sym

pathy

InsanityW

/M

.35

-.17

-.11

-.42

-.33

-.01

.19

-.12

.10

-.12

.3

9

W

/W

.32

-.03

-.07

-.21

-.01

-.02

.23

-.07

.12

-.06

.4

1

B

/M

.32

.05

.05

-.07

.20

.02

.21

.04

.03

-.23

.5

0

B

/W

.21

-.14

-.18

-.24

.40

-.26

-.06

-.21

-.002

-.03

.3

8

Outcome

severity

W

/M

-.42

.33

.26

.37

.31

-.05

-.09

.13

.06

.12

-.5

0

W

/W

-.39

.23

.33

.19

.04

.09

-.35

.32

.11

.24

-.4

4

B

/M

-.38

.06

.03

.02

-.09

.06

-.12

-.05

.03

.17

-.4

9

B

/W

-.31

.09

.11

.33

-.11

.15

.01

.30

.02

.16

-.4

2

Lifevs.

death

penalty

W

/M

-.40

.17

.27

.02

.09

-.07

-.02

-.05

-.05

.03

-.2

7

W

/W

-.21

.32

.39

.18

.03

.20

-.30

.26

.19

.43

-.2

6

B

/M

.03

.05

.05

.00

.17

.08

.07

.02

.11

.05

-.0

2

B

/W

-.18

.19

.13

.28

-.11

.14

-.02

.04

-.04

.10

-.2

1

Note.Perp5

perpetrator;Desperate5p

erpetratorfeltdesperate;Deliberate5

murdersweredeliberate;Sympathy5

sympathyfor

perpetrator;W/M5

WhiteMen;W/W5

WhiteWomen;B/M5

BlackMen;B/W5

BlackWomen.

Forinsanityandlifevs.d

eath-

penaltyjudgments,

higherscoresindica

teinsanityanddeathpenalty.

po

.05.po

.01.po

.001.

2408 DUNN ET AL.


15/22

with leniency in the outcome-severity measure for all groups of perpetrators.

However, these two factors (mental illness and sympathy) were not related

to death-penalty decisions for any group except White men.

Correlations of other possible motivational factors with the insanity

variable varied among sex/race groups. Spousal revenge and desperation

were associated negatively with insanity ratings for White men only. Un-

wanted children were associated negatively with insanity ratings only for

Black women.

Differences emerged among the correlates for the outcome-severity var-

iable as well. Although both sympathy for the perpetrator and mental illness

were associated negatively with outcome severity for all perpetrators, a

considerably larger number of aggravators and mitigators were associated

with outcome severity for White perpetrators than for Black perpetrators.

Specifically, for White men, financial gain, lying in wait, spousal revenge,

and desperation were associated positively with outcome severity; and lying

in wait and crime heinousness were associated positively with outcome se-

verity for White women. Also, mercy killing was associated negatively with

outcome severity for White women.

In contrast, only two factors were associated with outcome severity for

Black perpetrators. Spousal revenge and crime heinousness were associated

positively with outcome severity for Black women only. For Black men, with

the exception of mitigating factors, no extralegal factors were associated

with outcome severity.

In terms of the death-penalty variable, even fewer correlates were found

overall. Specifically, mental illness predicted death-penalty decisions only

for White men. In contrast, three aggravating factors and one mitigating

factor were associated with death-penalty decisions for White women: fi-

nancial gain, lying in wait, deliberation, and mercy killing. Not one

aggravator, mitigator, or characteristic of the crime or perpetrator predicted

death-penalty outcomes for Black men or Black women.

Discussion

Neither of our main effect predictions was supported by the analysis.

Prior research indicating that women are both more likely to use a psychi-

atric plea in filicide cases (Wilczynski, 1997) and more likely to be acquitted

for filicide than men (Armstrong, 1999; Lymburner & Roesch, 1999), as well

the very strong cultural norm that women are non-aggressive (White &Kowalski, 1998) led to our prediction that female early filicidal perpetrators

would be pathologized more than would male early filicidal perpetrators.

However, our analysis indicates no such relationship. Moreover, we had



16/22

predicted that perpetrators who used a gun (a method traditionally asso-

ciated with more extreme sentencing) would, regardless of race or sex, be

treated more harshly than perpetrators who smothered. Again, this main

effect prediction was not supported by the analysis.

However, several key findings did emerge from this analysis. First, our

interactional hypothesisFthat early filicidal perpetrators who killed their

children using sex-inconsistent means would receive harsher outcomesFwas

supported for the White perpetrators, but not for the Black perpetrators.

Fine and Carney (2001) suggested that role nonconformity is influential in

punishing women who are considered criminal. In the present study, the

method of killing was regarded as a sex-consistent or sex-inconsistent factor.

Thus, a White woman who shoots her children and a White man who

smothers his children are using methods that are sex-inconsistent (Collins,

Shaughnessy, Bradley, & Brown, 2001; Lewis et al., 1998; Resnick, 1969;

Silverman & Kennedy, 1988).

Blackman (1990) suggested that the response of the criminal justice sys-

tem is influenced by racist as well as sexist assumptions when a child has not

been protected. Jurors decisions in criminal (particularly capital) cases are

not racially neutral (e.g., see Baldus, Woodworth, & Pulaski, 1990; Bowers

& Pierce, 1981; Dunn et al., 1998; Haney, 1995a, 1995b, 1997; Sweeney &

Haney, 1992; U.S. General Accounting Office, 1990).

The findings suggest that the tendency for Black men to be judged more

harshly in the criminal justice system as a result of stereotypes linking them

to violent crime using weapons overrides the alternative possible hypothesis

based on Jones and Davis (1965) correspondent inference theory. Predic-

tions based on correspondent inference theory would suggest that norm-

incongruous (or stereotype-incongruous) behaviors (i.e., methods of killing)

should lead to more extreme judgments. This theory obviously was not

supported in the current study, as Black men actually received harsher out-

comes when they used guns (a sex- and racially consistent method) thanwhen they smothered (a sex- and racially inconsistent method). The same

was true for Black female filicidal perpetrators. That is, Black women who

smothered their children (a sex-consistent method) were treated more

harshly than were Black women who used guns. These findings represent the

converse of the sex-inconsistent findings that were found for White perpe-

trators.

Despite the fact that our main effect predictions regarding sex and race

of the perpetrator were not supported, interesting differences in the factors

associated with the outcome variables (i.e., insanity, sentence, and death-penalty decisions) did emerge. For example, with the exception of mental

illness, which was positively related to insanity for all three of the four race-

sex perpetrator combinations (except Black Women), and sympathy of the

2410 DUNN ET AL.


17/22

perpetrator, which was positively related to outcome severity for all per-

petrators, more factors were associated with insanity and outcome-severity

decisions for White men than for any other group.

The fact that mental illness was not associated with insanity for Black

women may be a result of the stereotype of Black women as being able to

overcome any obstacle (Sparks, 1998). Also, perhaps the realization that

social structural variables are external barriers to adequate caretaking may

mitigate the association of mental illness and insanity for Black female per-

petrators. Finally, none of the factors were associated with the death penalty

for Black men or Black women.

There are two possible explanations that may be posited for the lack of

associated factors for Black men and Black women on the death-penalty

variable. A possibility is that the general societal schema regarding early

filicidal perpetrators is that they are White, thus rendering the associative

network larger and more complex than that for non-White filicidal perpe-

trators. Thus, aggravating and mitigating factors may not be available el-

ements when decisions about non-White filicidal perpetrators are made.

Alternatively, these results simply may reflect a quality of arbitrariness in

the decision-making process of mock jurors when rendering decisions about

Black perpetrators of violent crime, particularly with respect to death-

penalty decisions.

Certainly some patterns can be ascertained from the associations made

between the extralegal factors and the outcome variables for each type of

perpetrator. For example, mercy killing, which was a significant negative

correlate with outcome severity and death penalty for White women only,

may be related to stereotypes of White women as maternal and nurturing.

As previously noted, violations of these normative roles may be a source of

confusion for decision makers. Thus, jurors may need to search for some

reason why a White mother would kill her children, simply because the

perception of a White woman killing her children violates too many norms(woman as mother and nurturer; woman as non-aggressive). Consider the

following quote from a recent law review article relating to mothers who kill

their children: It makes sense that there would be a much higher frequency

of insanity in filicide than in other crimes because if not insane, how could a

mother murder her own children? (Bienstock, 2003, p. 452).

The norm of women as mothers and nurturers seems less salient for

Black mothers, as the prototype for the murderer of ones children seems to

be a White woman. For example, the historical image of Black mammies

as nurturers of White children, rather than their own children (Sparks,1998), may disrupt the nurturer stereotype for Black mothers. Moreover,

Black women are seen as more aggressive, assertive, and dominant than

White women or Black men (Collins, 1991).



18/22

A final factor for consideration is the larger number of aggravating fac-

tors that were associated with death-penalty decisions for White women.

Social science research on women and the death penalty is sparse, and the

execution of women in general has generated considerable societal debate

(particularly without reference to the race of the female perpetrator). Our

results indicate that mock jurors associated more aggravating factors with

death-penalty decisions for White women than with any other group. This

phenomenon may have to do with the disbelief that a (White) woman would

kill her children, so that White women may present a moral dilemma to

those who vote to execute in general. Therefore, conjuring aggravating fac-

tors for the justification of a death sentence for White women may be the

only way that paternalistic jurors can follow through.

In aggregate, these results call for future research in the area of filicide,

particularly with respect to considerations of race and sex. Future research

would serve well to investigate these variables under more ecologically valid

circumstances. Furthermore, examination of actual adjudication of female

and male filicide perpetrators should include the method used. In actual

cases, it would be informative to determine whether severity of outcome is

associated with the method used.

As with any experimental piece, the current study is limited in terms of

external validity. First, the study focused on early filicidal perpetrators.

Others have distinguished between neonaticide, infanticide, early filicide,

and late filicide in terms of the profile of perpetrators (Sadoff, 1995). There-

fore, application of our research is limited to cases in which a parent

kills a child in early childhood. Additionally, the sample disproportionately

represented women and college students, making it difficult to demonstrate

any interactions of sex of juror with the experimental variables. However, the

other demographics of our sample do more closely represent those of a

typical jury pool in terms of ethnicity, income, and age. In sum, our research

suggests that the sex and race of the perpetrator, as well as the methodused in the killing, should be investigated further if we are to come to a

solid understanding of the mechanisms of juridical decision making in

filicide cases.

References

Adinkrah, M. (2001). When parents kill: An analysis of filicides in Fiji.

International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology,45, 144-158.

American Law Institute. (1962). Model penal code (proposed official draft).

Philadelphia, PA: Author.

2412 DUNN ET AL.


19/22

Armstrong, I. (1999). Women and their uncontrollable impulses: The med-

icalisation of womens crime and differential gender sentencing. Psychi-

atry, Psychology, and Law, 6, 67-77.

Baldus, D., Woodworth, G., & Pulaski, C. (1990). Equal justice and the

death penalty: A legal empirical analysis. Boston: Northeastern Univer-

sity Press.

Bienstock, S. L. (2003). Mothers who kill their children and postpartum

psychosis. Southwestern University Law Review, 32, 451-499.

Blackman, J. (1990). Emerging images of severely battered women and

the criminal justice system. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 8,

121-130.

Bodenhausen, G. V. (1990). Second-guessing the jury: Stereotypic and

hindsight biases in perception of court cases. Journal of Applied Social

Psychology, 20, 1112-1121.

Borum, R., & Fulero, S. M. (1999). Empirical research on the insanity

defense and attempted reforms: Evidence toward informed policy. Law

and Human Behavior, 23, 117-136.

Bourget, D., & Bradford, J. M. W. (1990). Homicidal parents. Canadian

Journal of Psychiatry, 35, 233-237.

Bowers, W., & Pierce, G. (1981). Arbitrariness and discrimination under

post-Furman capital statutes. Crime and Delinquency, 26, 563-635.

California jury instructions, criminal (CALJIC). (1986). y8.84.1 (general sen-

tencing) and y8.84.2 (special circumstances). St. Paul, MN: West Pub-

lishing.

California jury instructions, criminal (CALJIC). (1993). Defense of insanity

y4.00 (5th ed.). St. Paul, MN: West Publishing.

Campbell, A. (1999). Staying alive: Evolution, culture, and womens intra-

sexual aggression. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22, 203-252.

Caplan, P. J. (2000). The new dont blame mother: Mending the mother-

daughter relationship. New York: Routledge.Collins, P. L. (1991). Black feminist thought. New York: Routledge.

Collins, P. L., Shaughnessy, M. F., Bradley, L., & Brown, K. (2001).

Filicidesuicide: In search of meaning. North American Journal of

Psychology, 3, 277-292.

Copeland, A. R. (1985). Homicide in childhood: A public health problem in

need of attention. American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology,

6, 618-622.

Dienstbier, R. A., Roesch, S. C., Mizumoto, A., Hemenover, S. H., Lott,

R. C., & Carlo, G. (1998). Effects of weapons on guilt judgments andsentencing recommendations for criminals. Basic and Applied Social

Psychology, 20, 93-102.



20/22

dOrban, P. T. (1979). Women who kill their children. British Journal of

Psychiatry, 134, 560-571.

Dunn, K. F., Willis-Esqueda, C., & Schopp, R. F. (March 1998). The effects

of victim blame, perpetrator race, and instruction type on capital sentenc-

ing decisions. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychology

Law Society, Redondo Beach, CA.

Ellsworth, P. C., & Mauro, R. (1998). Psychology and law. In D. Gilbert,

S. T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook of social psychology (4th ed.,

pp. 619-626). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Fine, M., & Carney, S. (2001). Women, gender, and the law. In R. K. Unger

(Ed.), Handbook of the psychology of women and gender (pp. 388-409).

New York: Wiley.

Finkel, N. J. (1995). Commonsense justice: Jurors notions of the law. Cam-

bridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Finkel, N. J. (1997). Commonsense justice, psychology, and the law: Pro-

totypes common, senseful and not. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law,

3, 461-489.

Finkel, N. J., Burke, J. E., & Chavez, L. J. (2000). Commonsense judgments

of infanticide: Murder, manslaughter, madness, or miscellaneous. Psy-

chology, Public Policy, and Law, 6, 1113-1137.

Finkel, N. J., & Groscup, J. L. (1997). Crime prototypes, objective versus

subject responsibility, and a commonsense balance. Law and Human

Behavior, 21, 209-230.

Finkel, N. J., & Sales, B. D. (1997). Commonsense justice: Old roots,

germinant ground, and new shoots. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law,

3(2/3), 227-241.

Gorden, R. A. (1993). The effect of strong versus weak evidence on assess-

ment of race-stereotypic and race-non-stereotypic crimes. Journal of

Applied Social Psychology, 23, 971-983.

Gorden, R. A., Bindrim, T. A., McNicholas, M. L., & Walden, T. L. (1988).Perceptions of blue-collar and white-collar crime. The effect of defendant

race and simulated juror decisions. Journal of Social Psychology, 128,

191-197.

Haney, C. (1995a). The social context of capital murder. Social histories and

the logic of mitigation. Santa Clara Law Review, 35, 547-609.

Haney, C. (1995b). Taking capital jurors seriously. Indiana Law Journal, 70,

1223-1232.

Haney, C. (1997). Commonsense justice and capital punishment: Problem-

atizing the will of the people. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 3,303-337.

Jones, E. E., & Davis, K. E. (1965). From acts to dispositions: The attri-

bution process in person perception. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in

2414 DUNN ET AL.


21/22

experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 219-226). New York: Aca-

demic Press.

Lewis, C. F., Baranoski, M. V., Buchanan, J. A., & Benedek, E. P. (1998).

Factors associated with weapon use in filicide. Journal of Forensic Sci-

ences, 43, 613-618.

Lymburner, J. A., & Roesch, R. (1999). The insanity defense: Five years of

research (1993-1997). International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 22,

213-240.

Marleau, J. D., Poulin, B., Webanck, T., Roy, R., & Laporte, L. (1999).

Paternal filicide: A study of 10 men. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 44,

57-67.

McKee, G. R., & Shea, S. J. (1998). Maternal filicide: A cross-national

comparison. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 54, 679-687.

Oliver, M. B. (1994). Portrayals of crime, race, and aggression in reality-

based police shows: A content analysis. Journal of Broadcasting and

Electronic Media, 38, 179-192.

Perlin, M. L. (1990). Psychodynamics and the insanity defense: Ordinary

common sense and heuristic reasoning. Nebraska Law Review, 69, 3-70.

Profiling 46,000 cities, villages, towns, townships, and podunks across Amer-

ica. (2000). Retrieved August 3, 2000, from http://www.epodunk.com/

cgi-bin/popinfo.php

Resnick, P. J. (1969). Child murder by parents: A psychiatric review of

filicide. American Journal of Psychiatry, 126, 325-334.

Russo, N. F. (1976). The motherhood mandate. Journal of Social Issues,

32(3), 143-153.

Sadoff, R. L. (1995). Mothers who kill their children. Psychiatric Annals, 25,

601-605.

Silverman, R. A., & Kennedy, L. W. (1988). Women who kill their children.

Violence and Victims, 3, 113-127.

Simpson, A., & Stanton, J. (2000). Maternal filicide: A reformulationof factors relevant to risk. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 10,

136-147.

Smith, K., & Studebaker, J. (1996). What do you expect? The influence of

peoples prior knowledge of crime categories on fact finding. Law and

Human Behavior, 20, 517-552.

Sparks, E. E. (1998). Overcoming stereotypes of mothers in the African

American context. In D. L. Anselmi & A. L. Law (Eds.), Questions

of gender: Perspectives and paradoxes (pp. 220-232). Boston:

McGraw-Hill.Stalans, L. J., & Diamond, S. S. (1990). Formation and change in lay eval-

uations of judicial leniency: Misperceptions and discontent. Law and

Human Behavior, 14, 199-214.



22/22

Stanton, J., & Simpson, A. (2002). Filicide: A review. International Journal

of Law and Psychiatry, 25, 1-14.

Sweeney, L., & Haney, C. (1992). The influence of race on sentencing:

A meta-analytic review of experimental studies. Behavioral Sciences and

the Law, 13, 61-80.

Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty:

Heuristics and biases. Science, 185, 1124-1131.

U.S. General Accounting Office. (1990). Death penalty sentencing: Research

indicates pattern of racial disparities. Washington DC: Author.

Vanamo, T., Kauppi, A., Karkola, K., Merikanto, J., & Ra sa nen, E. (2001).

Intra-familial child homicide in Finland, 19701994: Incidence, causes of

death, and demographic characteristics. Forensic Science International,

117, 199-204.

White, J. W., & Kowalski, R. M. (1998). Deconstructing the myth of the

nonaggressive woman: A feminist analysis. In D. L. Anselmi & A. L.

Law (Eds.), Questions of gender (pp. 390-404). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Wilczynski, A. (1995). Risk factors for parental child homicide: Results of

an English study. Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 7, 193-225.

Wilczynski, A. (1997). Mad or bad? Child killers, gender, and the courts.

British Journal of Criminology, 37, 419-434.

Wilczynski, A., & Morris, A. (1993). Parents who kill their children. Crim-

inal Law Review, 1, 31-36.

Willis-Esqueda, C. W. (1997). European American students perceptions of

crimes committed by five racial groups. Journal of Applied Social Psy-

chology, 27, 1406-1420.

Willis-Esqueda, C., & Swanson, K. (1997). The influence of alcohol use and

crime stereotypicality on responsibility assignments for Native Ameri-

cans and European Americans. American Indian Culture and Research

Journal, 21, 229-254.

Worrall, A. (1981). Out of place: Female offenders in court. ProbationJournal, 28(3), 90-93.

2416 DUNN ET AL.

Documents

Effects of Sex and Race of Perpetrator