Why are American juries more reluctant to sentence a woman to death for capital crimes?

Question

It seems that the same type of crimes would land a man on death row dont seem to land a woman on death row such as killing a child, killing a police office, murder for hire, participating in a murder that involves a robbery and/or kidnapping.

Answer 1

The jury that acquitted Lizzie Borden was polled after they gave their verdict. She was found not guilty despite a persuasive amount of circumstantial evidence. The foreman for the jury summed up their decision this way. "Well brought up women simply do not commit murder on sunny summer days."

As a culture, we are taught to revere women as "the weaker sex", "the fair sex", etc. Women are to be sheltered, cared for, and protected. It goes against the grain to believe that women are capable of these crimes. Even when we cannot deny the fact that women are capable of committing a heinous crime, we have a hard time holding them as accountable as their male counterparts.

Answer 2

We think of women as delicate and needing protection, not as violent murders. So when a woman does this (which is very rare) it conflicts in the social conscious for the mostly male prosecutors,judges, juries, and executioners that would decide to see women put to death. The first was after Lincoln's assassination and then in Texas. So it doesn't happen much. As a woman I believe that murder is murder & a woman that kills...her life is no more precious & we should execute her just the same as a male prisoner could be for his crime.

Answer 3

I think that juries in most Western countries, at least those that still even HAVE a death penalty, are similarly reluctant. It's probably a vestige of the image of women as weaker, more easily influenced, but at the same time mothers. It would be interesting to research whether female jurors are more or less likely to convict a woman of a capital crime, as well as whether my thought about other Western countries is statistically right.

Answer 4

in America generally we have the concept of a woman should be a lady and generally throughout American history women have been considered second-class citizens because they were viewed as less capable and less intelligent. So condemning them to death may be seen as the same thing as condemning someone mentally challenged to death.

However by the same token studies show that juries are less likely to punish a woman, but once they are found absolutely guilty they are often punished more severely because ladies are not supposed to behave that way.

Answer 5

lower back contained in the day if a woman "pled her abdomen" (aka - claimed to be pregnant). they could delay the execution lengthy sufficient to carry close no matter if she change into mendacity or for her to furnish delivery, then she'd be finished and the youngster placed into an orphanage. lately if a woman on lack of life row is pregnant, she might want to have her infant, it would want to easily accept to relations or placed up for adoption and the female is placed lower back on lack of life row. they gained't execute a pregnant lady.