Criminal Minds Cannot Be Disabled:

Intellectual Disability in Capital Cases

Emily ShawNicholas Scurich

David Faigman - UC Hastings

Legal Background• SCOTUS: Intellectually disabled defendants

cannot be executed • Atkins v. Virginia, 2002

• States should adhere to clinical (APA) standards in assessing intellectual disability

• Hall v. Florida, 2014• Clinical criteria:

• Deficits in intellectual functioning – IQ 70 (±5)• Deficits in adaptive functioning – Ex: self-care,

communication• Early signs of disability in childhood

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Legal Background

• States vary on whether intellectual disability is decided by a judge or a jury

• Approximately a third of all death penalty jurisdictions allow or require a jury

• (Blume et al., 2014)• In California:

• Defendants can choose either a judge or jury• Intellectual disability hearings typically occur

between conviction and sentencing

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Legal Background

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Conviction DisabilityHearing Sentencing

Research Questions

How does crime information impact

(1) perceptions of intellectual disability

AND

(2) willingness to sentence to death?

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Method• 301 venire jurors recruited, 286 valid

responses• 15 jurors excluded for failing attention check

• Demographics:• 52% female, median age 39• 39% White, 25% Hispanic, 22% Asian• 44% democrat, 25% republican, 20%

independent• 78% of jurors were death qualified

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Materials - Background• The defendant has been found guilty of

committing a capital offense• The defendant claims he is intellectually

disabled• If you find the defendant is intellectually

disabled, he cannot be executed• You will be asked to determine whether the

defendant should be considered disabled• If you determine the defendant is not disabled,

then you will determine whether he should receive a death sentence for his crime

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Design• 2 x 2 Factorial design

• Clinical manipulation (opinion: disabled vs not)• Crime information (present or absent)

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Materials - Clinical• Clinical assessment

• Two IQ tests (scores 69 and 74)• Deficits in work, academics and social skills• Signs of disability in childhood – IQ test of 67 and

behavioral problems in class

• Expert opinion manipulation• Expert says the defendant’s performance is either

consistent or inconsistent with intellectually disabled person

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Materials - Crime• Crime manipulation

• Some participants read crime content• Others receive only the clinical information

• Crime information• Defendant abducted a woman from a local parking

lot at gunpoint• Defendant drove victim to another location and

ordered her to give him her money and purse• Defendant shot the victim and left her body behind

a dumpster

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Dependent Variables• Intellectual disability verdict

• The defendant does/does not have an intellectual disability (select one)

• Willingness to sentence to death• If you were a juror in this case, would you

sentence the defendant to death? (yes / no)

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Results: Disability

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CrimeInformation:Exp(B)=2.49,95%CI[1.13,5.48],p =.023

0102030405060708090100

NoCrimeDetails CrimeDetails

%Sup

portfo

r"NotDisa

bled

"

Expert:"Disabled"

Expert:"NotDisabled"

ExpertOpinion:Exp(B)=4.37,95%CI[1.80,10.65],p =.001

0102030405060708090100

NoCrimeDetails CrimeDetails

%Sup

portfo

rDeathSen

tence

Expert:"Disabled"

Expert:"NotDisabled"

Results: Death Sentencing

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Expertopinion:Exp(B)=4.30,95%CI[1.41,13.11],p =.01CrimeInformation:Exp(B)=5.94,95%CI[2.16,16.38],p =.001

Summary

• Exposure to crime details made jurors:• Twice as likely to find a defendant

NOT disabled• Almost six times more likely to be

willing to sentence a defendant to death

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Summary• Limitations:

• Short written stimulus • No presentation with a live expert or defendant• No deliberation• Only used one court-appointed expert witness

• Future studies could explore how variations in crime details shape perceptions of disability (e.g. evidence of plan or cover-up)

• Recommendation: bifurcation of trial phases

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Thank you!

evshaw@uci.edu

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