Premium
Death row inmate characteristics, adjustment, and confinement: a critical review of the literature
Author(s) -
Cunningham Mark D.,
Vigen Mark P.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
behavioral sciences and the law
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.649
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1099-0798
pISSN - 0735-3936
DOI - 10.1002/bsl.473
Subject(s) - extant taxon , culpability , medical examiner , mental health , prison , solitary confinement , psychology , psychiatry , suicide prevention , representation (politics) , criminology , poison control , injury prevention , race (biology) , medicine , medical emergency , political science , law , sociology , evolutionary biology , politics , biology , gender studies
This article reviews and summarizes research on death row inmates. The contributions and weaknesses of death row demographic data, clinical studies, and research based on institutional records are critiqued. Our analysis shows that death row inmates are overwhelmingly male and disproportionately Southern. Racial representation remains controversial. Frequently death row inmates are intellectually limited and academically deficient. Histories of significant neurological insult are common, as are developmental histories of trauma, family disruption, and substance abuse. Rates of psychological disorder among death row inmates are high, with conditions of confinement appearing to precipitate or aggravate these disorders. Contrary to expectation, the extant research indicates that the majority of death row inmates do not exhibit violence in prison even in more open institutional settings. These findings have implications for forensic mental health sentencing evaluations, competent attorney representation, provision of mental health services, racial disparity in death sentences, death row security and confinement policies, and moral culpability considerations. Future research directions on death row populations are suggested. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.