Jurors exonerate themselves by believing executions rarely occur

Evidence

Those who are sentenced to death can go through various stages of appeals regarding issues concerning conviction and sentencing. These appeal processes can go on for decades. As a result, the connection between the death sentence and execution may span many years; in many cases, execution never occurs. The greatest moral self-exoneration is the belief that executions do not really happen. Except in a few southern states, jurors can point to the fact that inmates sentenced to death are rarely if ever executed. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2008 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Criminal juries systematically convict less often than judges would in identical cases — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 1439; The death penalty in practice fell capriciously on a random handful of the condemned. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2002; Believing executions never happen lets jurors vote death without moral cost — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2008 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Believing executions never happen lets jurors vote death without moral cost #expands (0.92) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2008
• Belief in wrongful executions does not reduce death penalty support #complicates (0.74)