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Death penalty views in China, Japan and the U.S.: An empirical comparison

Author

Listed:
  • Jiang, Shanhe
  • Lambert, Eric G.
  • Wang, Jin
  • Saito, Toyoji
  • Pilot, Rebecca

Abstract

Many nations impose the death penalty, yet most of the literature on capital punishment has focused on Western nations, particularly the U.S. China and Japan are two retentionist nations. Based on the data collected in 2005, this study examined the level of death penalty support and views on capital punishment among college students from China, Japan, and the U.S. It was found that Chinese respondents reported the highest level of death penalty support, followed by Japanese and U.S. students. Respondents from China and Japan were more likely to believe in the deterrence value of capital punishment than their U.S. counterparts. Views on retribution differed among the respondents. U.S. students were most likely to feel that innocent people are sentenced to death. In multivariate analyses, deterrence was the strongest correlate of death penalty views among Chinese and Japanese respondents, followed closely by retribution. For both Chinese and Japanese students, the barbarity of government taking the life of a person was the strongest predictor for opposing the death penalty. For U.S. respondents, retribution was the strongest reason for supporting capital punishment and the barbarity of executions was the strongest reason for opposing the death penalty.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiang, Shanhe & Lambert, Eric G. & Wang, Jin & Saito, Toyoji & Pilot, Rebecca, 2010. "Death penalty views in China, Japan and the U.S.: An empirical comparison," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 862-869, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcjust:v:38:y::i:5:p:862-869
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Liang, Bin, 2005. "Severe strike campaign in transitional China," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 387-399.
    2. Jiang, Shanhe & Lambert, Eric G. & Nathan, Vincent M., 2009. "Reasons for death penalty attitudes among Chinese citizens: Retributive or instrumental?," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 225-233, May.
    3. Lu, Hong & Zhang, Lening, 2005. "Death penalty in China: The law and the practice," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 33(4), pages 367-376.
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    Cited by:

    1. Watamura, Eiichiro & Ioku, Tomohiro, 2023. "Japanese public opinion on reporting the real names of juvenile criminals: An examination from the perspective of justification preferences," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    2. Liu, Zhuang, 2022. "The internet echo chamber and the misinformation of judges: The case of judges’ perception of public support for the death penalty in China," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    3. Behnken, Monic P. & Caudill, Jonathan W. & Berg, Mark T. & Trulson, Chad R. & DeLisi, Matt, 2011. "Marked for Death: An Empirical Criminal Careers Analysis of Death Sentences in a Sample of Convicted Male Homicide Offenders," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 471-478.
    4. Jiang, Shanhe & Lambert, Eric G. & Liu, Jianhong & Saito, Toyoji, 2014. "Formal and informal control views in China, Japan, and the U.S," Journal of Criminal Justice, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 36-44.
    5. Eiichiro Watamura & Tomohiro Ioku, 2023. "Wrongful Conviction Rates and Death Penalty Support: Acceptability Hypothesis in Japan," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, August.

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