How Punishment Severity Affects Jury Verdicts: Evidence from Two Natural Experiments

Anna Bindler and Randi Hjalmarsson

American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 2018, vol. 10, issue 4, 36-78

Abstract: This paper studies the effect of punishment severity on jury decision-making using archival data from London's Old Bailey Criminal Court from 1772 to 1871. We exploit two natural experiments in English history, resulting in sharp decreases in punishment severity: the offense-specific abolition of capital punishment and the temporary halt of penal transportation during the American Revolution. Using difference-in-differences to study the former and a pre-post design for the latter, we find a large, significant and permanent impact on jury behavior: juries are more likely to convict overall and across crime categories. Moreover, the effect size differs with defendants' gender.

JEL-codes: K41 K42 N43 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
Note: DOI: 10.1257/pol.20170214
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (12)

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