American capital sentencing historically concentrated both verdict and punishment in the jury.

Evidence

States with capital punishment rely on the jury to determine when to impose it. For most of American history, when a defendant was charged with a capital crime, the jury simultaneously rendered its verdict iguilly<c or not pe and determined the punishment. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1996

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the traditional unitary capital trial that unguided-discretion challenges targeted.
• XREF: connects to: Jurors reframe capital sentencing as rules answering to avoid moral guilt — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2003; Bifurcated capital trials split guilt determination from structured sentencing decisions — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2016; Gregg v. Georgia made bifurcated trials the universal capital-sentencing procedure — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2015 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Jurors reframe capital sentencing as rules answering to avoid moral guilt #expands (0.95) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2003
• Bifurcated capital trials split guilt determination from structured sentencing decisions #complicates (0.85) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2016
• Trial procedure itself biases jurors toward the death penalty after a guilty verdict #complicates (0.85) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2004
• Gregg v. Georgia made bifurcated trials the universal capital-sentencing procedure #complicates (0.80) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2015
• Judges decide law while juries decide facts and apply it #qualifies (0.75) — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1409
• Individual juror decisions do not simply aggregate into deliberating jury outcomes #qualifies (0.75) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 913
• Jury verdicts can convict the innocent when racial bias dominates #qualifies (0.75) — Joseph Avery, Jim Sidanius, Joel Cooper, Gregory Davis, Amanda N., Bias in the Law, 34