Personality, belief in a just world, and attitudes toward criminal responsibility defenses: a preliminary study
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JCRPP-09-2017-0028 |
| Date | 28 February 2019 |
| Published date | 28 February 2019 |
| Pages | 1-12 |
| Author | Robyn Mooney |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Personality, belief in a just world, and
attitudes toward criminal responsibility
defenses: a preliminary study
Robyn Mooney
Abstract
Purpose –In Canada, if it can be proven that a defendant was suffering from a mental disorder at the time
they committed an offense, they can be found Not Criminally Responsible on Account of Mental Disorder
(NCRMD). These cases are often decided by jury. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the
dark triad (DT), social dominance orientation (SDO) and belief in a just world (BJW) on undergraduate
students’attitudes toward the NCRMD defense.
Design/methodology/approach –A total of 421 undergraduate students completed questionnaires
measuring SDO and the DT. After being primed for high, low or neutral BJW, they indicated their attitudes
toward NCRMD.
Findings –The BJW manipulation had no effect on attitudes. High-SDO/DT participants held less favorable
attitudes toward NCRMD than participants who scored low on these variables, F(1, 420)¼20.65, p o0.01,
Z2
p¼0:05. Psychology and criminology students had significantly more favorable attitudes toward NCRMD
than business students.
Practical implications –This study can be helpful in improving jury impartiality in trials involving mental
illness and criminal responsibility; assessment of SDO and the DT; awareness of career roles relating to
insanity defense bias; and improving the voir dire process.
Originality/value –The results of this study may be used to improve the voir dire process in trials involving
the issue of mental illness and criminal responsibility and to preserve the impartiality of the jurors selected for
these trials.
Keywords Justice, Offenders, Mental health/disorders, Courts, Dark triad, Belief in a just world,
Criminal responsibility, Social dominance orientation
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Mental illness and criminal responsibility
In Canada, defendants in criminal cases may be diverted into treatment if it can be proven that
they were suffering from a mental disorder at the time they committed the offense in question
(Penney et al., 2013). According to Section 16 of the Criminal Code of Canada, if this individual’s
mental disorder rendered them incapable of appreciating the nature and quality of their actions or
of knowing that their behavior was wrong, they cannot be found guilty for that offense (Criminal
Code of Canada, 1991). Rather, they must be found Not Criminally Responsible on Account of
Mental Disorder (NCRMD). Similar provisions exist in many other countries, including the USA,
the UK and Australia.
In Canadian trials where the issue of NCRMD is raised, a verdict may be decided by either a judge
or a jury (Maeder et al., 2015). When a jury is trusted with a verdict in a criminal case, it is
assumed that they are operating in an impartial and unbiased manner. However, this impartiality
can be severely tainted by pre-existing negative attitudes or biases that the juror may hold,
including those pertaining to the NCRMD defense. It has been demonstrated that jurors place
Received 21 September 2017
Revised 6 November 2017
Accepted 7 November 2017
Robyn Mooney is based at the
Department of Psychology,
Ashworth Hospital, Liverpool,
UK and Edge Hill University,
Ormskirk, UK.
DOI 10.1108/JCRPP-09-2017-0028 VOL. 5 NO. 1 2019, pp.1-12, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2056-3841
j
JOURNAL OF CRIMINOLOGICAL RESEARCH, POLICY AND PRACTICE
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