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This article examines the relationship between experiencing the homicide of a family member, friend, or acquaintance and the likelihood of support for capital punishment. Homicide victims'family and friends are often portrayed as strong advocates of the death penalty. Yet, the effect of vicarious homicide victimization on support for capital punishment has never been systematically examined, and in fact, Donald Black's theory of law suggests an inverse relationship between the two variables. Using data from the 1988 General Social Survey, this research tests hypotheses derived from Black's theory regarding the relationship among social intimacy, cultural status, and the use of law in response to conflict. Multivariate logistic regression models suggest that the experience of personally knowing a homicide victim significantly affects one's likelihood of support for the death penalty, but the effect of vicarious victimization varies for black and white respondents. The empirical patterns indicate that in addition to race, religious orientation and gender also play important roles in determining the relationship between vicarious homicide victimization and support for the death penalty.

Focusing on the last 25 years of debate, this paper examines the changing nature of death penalty arguments in six specific areas: deterrence, incapacitation, caprice and bias, cost, innocence, and retribution. After reviewing recent changes in public opinion regarding the death penalty, we review the findings of social science research pertinent to each of these issues. Our analysis suggests that social science scholarship is changing the way Americans debate the death penalty. Particularly when viewed within a historical and world-wide context, these changes suggest a gradual movement toward the eventual abolition of capital punishment in America.

In the 1989 Va gubernatorial campaign, all published preelection surveys overestimated the vote share of the black candidate & eventual victor, Douglas Wilder. Here, a social desirability interpretation of the polls' inaccuracies is offered, hypothesizing that claiming support for Wilder was the socially desirable response for some whites, in light of the fact that the interviewer was black. Analysis of telephone survey data from 256 registered Va voters, reveals a race-of-interviewer effect of 8-11 percentage points; the effects were greatest among white Democrats & among whites uncertain of their vote intention. Implications of these findings for race-of-interviewer research & for improving the accuracy of preelection forecasts in racially-mixed contests are discussed. 5 Tables, 26 References. Adapted from the source document.