Excusing murder? Conservative jurors’ acceptance of the gay-panic defense.

Abstract

We conducted a simulated trial study to investigate the effectiveness of a “gay-panic” provocation defense as a function of jurors’ political orientation. Mock jurors read about a murder case in which a male defendant claimed a victim provoked the killing by starting a fight, which either included or did not include the male victim making an unwanted sexual advance that triggered a state of panic in the defendant. Conservative jurors were significantly less punitive when the defendant claimed to have acted out of gay panic as compared to when this element was not part of the defense. In contrast, liberal jurors were unaffected by the gay-panic manipulation. The effect of the gay-panic defense on punitiveness was mediated by conservatives’ decreased moral outrage toward the defendant. Implications for psychological theory and the legal system are discussed.

Political Identity, Type of Victim, and Hate Crime‐Related Beliefs as Predictors of Views Concerning Hate Crime Penalty Enhancement Laws

“…Not surprisingly, conservative political orientation predicted less support for penalty enhancement, which is in line with Cabeldue et al's (in press) reported pattern of political conservatism being linked with negative views of hate crime victims and laws (in general). These patterns also contribute to a building literature suggesting a general political identity is related to perceptions and decisions concerning laws and policies dealing with minority issues (e.g., gay panic defense, hate crime laws; Cabeldue et al, in press;Johnson & Byers, 2003;Salerno et al, 2015). Finally, this finding is supported by Johnson and Byers' (2003) findings that conservative individuals were less supportive of hate crime laws when sexual minorities were included as a protected group.…”

“…We define political identity in the present study as one's self-reported global or overall identity along a continuum ranging from conservative to liberal, a definition employed in literature concerning public perceptions of sexuality and legal policies (e.g., Markus-Newhall, Blake, & Baumann, 2002;Salerno et al, 2015). As evidenced by the legislative debate surrounding the HCPA of 2009 (HRC Foundation, 2013), political ideology likely plays a role in the support for hate crime laws.…”

“…Politically conservative individuals are more likely to have negative views of members of subordinate groups (e.g., Kinder & Sears, 1981;Haddock, Zanna, & Esses, 1993). In perceptions of gay panic laws, politically conservative jurors tend to hold antigay beliefs (Salerno et al, 2015). Finally, Cabeldue et al (in press) reported the following patterns associated with political conservatism: (1) lack of support for protecting minority groups in hate crime laws, and (2) decreased endorsement of beliefs concerning hate crime offenders warranting increased punishment, hate crimes laws leading to deterrence of hate crimes, and affirmation that hate crimes cause victims undue harm.…”

“…As evidenced by the legislative debate surrounding the HCPA of (HRC Foundation, ), political ideology likely plays a role in the support for hate crime laws. We define political identity in the present study as one's self‐reported global or overall identity along a continuum ranging from conservative to liberal, a definition employed in literature concerning public perceptions of sexuality and legal policies (e.g., Markus‐Newhall, Blake, & Baumann, ; Salerno et al., ). Politically conservative individuals are more likely to have negative views of members of subordinate groups (e.g., Kinder & Sears, ; Haddock, Zanna, & Esses, ).…”

“…Politically conservative individuals are more likely to have negative views of members of subordinate groups (e.g., Kinder & Sears, ; Haddock, Zanna, & Esses, ). In perceptions of gay panic laws, politically conservative jurors tend to hold antigay beliefs (Salerno et al., ). Finally, Cabeldue et al.…”