California State University Dominguez Hills
Does Capital punishment (murder) view differ by gender, sex, and age
Do sex, age, and education levels affect whether someone supports or opposes the death penalty
for convicted murderers?
Bibiana Mashamba
Final Report for Statistics for Criminal Justice Administration
ABSTRACT
The death penalty has historically been used to communicate outrage about specific crimes such
as murder and so forth. Many studies have examined sex, race, and age with limited samples and
have given scant attention to degree or higher education. This study examines the role of sex,
age, and degree, and their views on the death penalty for convicted murderers. This report uses
data from the 2024 General Social Survey to better understand whether sex, age, and education
level affect whether someone supports the death penalty, or whether a murderer convicted
receives the death penalty. Findings reveal that there is a significant difference between sex, age,
and degree, and views on the death penalty for murder convicts. The older the person is, female,
and has a lower degree, the more likely they are to favor capital punishment when some other
factors are considered.
,TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS 2
INTRODUCTION 3
PRIOR RESEARCH ON [STATE TOPIC] 3
DATA AND MEASURES 4
Data Overview 4
Variables 4
Hypotheses 4
Analysis 4
RESULTS
DISCUSSION 5
CONCLUSION 6
Policy Implications 6
REFERENCES 7
APPENDIX 8
Descriptive Statistics 8
Bivariate Statistics 8
, INTRODUCTION
This study examines the relationship between the death penalty for persons convicted of
murder and sex, degree, and age using data from the 2024 General Social Survey (GSS). This
topic is important to the field of Criminal Justice because it offers a clear look at a controversial
issue and how different ages, genders, and education levels view it. The purpose of this analysis
is to determine whether capital punishment or the death penalty is associated with sex, degree,
and age, meaning if there is a significant difference between sex, degree, and age and their
support and opposition for the death penalty for offenders convicted of murder. I expect that the
support for the death penalty will be more likely to be favored by females, older people, and
those with high school degrees or less than males, people with a graduate degree, and younger
people.
PRIOR RESEARCH ON [THE DEATH PENALTY]
Previous research has shown that age matters in capital punishment for murder. Research
shows that the more vulnerable the victim is, such as a child, the more likely an offender is to
receive the death penalty. According to (Marier et al 2018), offenders who murdered the elderly
were less likely to receive the death penalty than those who murdered children. This means the
older a person gets, the less likely their killer is to get capital punishment if they ever get killed.
This research found inconsistent with the vulnerable victim hypothesis, which is the idea that
victims perceived as especially vulnerable, such as children or the elderly, might lead to harsher
punishment, regardless of life-years lost. However, since this study was based on the population
of North Carolina murder trials, it may not be generalized to the entire United States population,
so age opinions may differ. Furthermore, maybe age perceptions may have changed as the study
Does Capital punishment (murder) view differ by gender, sex, and age
Do sex, age, and education levels affect whether someone supports or opposes the death penalty
for convicted murderers?
Bibiana Mashamba
Final Report for Statistics for Criminal Justice Administration
ABSTRACT
The death penalty has historically been used to communicate outrage about specific crimes such
as murder and so forth. Many studies have examined sex, race, and age with limited samples and
have given scant attention to degree or higher education. This study examines the role of sex,
age, and degree, and their views on the death penalty for convicted murderers. This report uses
data from the 2024 General Social Survey to better understand whether sex, age, and education
level affect whether someone supports the death penalty, or whether a murderer convicted
receives the death penalty. Findings reveal that there is a significant difference between sex, age,
and degree, and views on the death penalty for murder convicts. The older the person is, female,
and has a lower degree, the more likely they are to favor capital punishment when some other
factors are considered.
,TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS 2
INTRODUCTION 3
PRIOR RESEARCH ON [STATE TOPIC] 3
DATA AND MEASURES 4
Data Overview 4
Variables 4
Hypotheses 4
Analysis 4
RESULTS
DISCUSSION 5
CONCLUSION 6
Policy Implications 6
REFERENCES 7
APPENDIX 8
Descriptive Statistics 8
Bivariate Statistics 8
, INTRODUCTION
This study examines the relationship between the death penalty for persons convicted of
murder and sex, degree, and age using data from the 2024 General Social Survey (GSS). This
topic is important to the field of Criminal Justice because it offers a clear look at a controversial
issue and how different ages, genders, and education levels view it. The purpose of this analysis
is to determine whether capital punishment or the death penalty is associated with sex, degree,
and age, meaning if there is a significant difference between sex, degree, and age and their
support and opposition for the death penalty for offenders convicted of murder. I expect that the
support for the death penalty will be more likely to be favored by females, older people, and
those with high school degrees or less than males, people with a graduate degree, and younger
people.
PRIOR RESEARCH ON [THE DEATH PENALTY]
Previous research has shown that age matters in capital punishment for murder. Research
shows that the more vulnerable the victim is, such as a child, the more likely an offender is to
receive the death penalty. According to (Marier et al 2018), offenders who murdered the elderly
were less likely to receive the death penalty than those who murdered children. This means the
older a person gets, the less likely their killer is to get capital punishment if they ever get killed.
This research found inconsistent with the vulnerable victim hypothesis, which is the idea that
victims perceived as especially vulnerable, such as children or the elderly, might lead to harsher
punishment, regardless of life-years lost. However, since this study was based on the population
of North Carolina murder trials, it may not be generalized to the entire United States population,
so age opinions may differ. Furthermore, maybe age perceptions may have changed as the study
