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VOLUME 17 - CHAPTER 303
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303.7 Death Penalty: Specific Mitigating Factors

    303.7.8 Death Penalty: Physical Abuse Of Defendant As Mitigation

    303.7.8.1 Family History As Mitigation
    303.7.8.2 Death Penalty Mitigation: Physical Abuse Of Defendant As Child Is Relevant Mitigating Evidence Even Without Expert Testimony
    303.7.8.3 Childhood Victimization As Mitigation

THE NATIONAL CRIMINAL JURY INSTRUCTION COMPENDIUM
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VOLUME 17 - CHAPTER 303

PRACTICE NOTE: See Capital Punishment Handbook [4.8.2.2a. Youth/Family History: Authorities].

    See also NCJIC 303.7.1.5 [Death Penalty: Defendant's Background Is Mitigating Only].

See Capital Punishment Handbook [4.8.2.2a. Youth/Family History: Authorities].

THE NATIONAL CRIMINAL JURY INSTRUCTION COMPENDIUM
Instructions And Issues Omitted By The Pattern Instructions
Copyright & Publication Information

VOLUME 17 - CHAPTER 303

PRACTICE NOTE: See Motley v. Collins (5th Cir. 1993) 3 F3d 781, 790.

THE NATIONAL CRIMINAL JURY INSTRUCTION COMPENDIUM
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VOLUME 17 - CHAPTER 303

RESEARCH NOTES: Diana J. English Ph.D., Cathy Spatz Widom, Ph.D., Carol Brandford, MSW, Childhood Victimization and Delinquency, Adult Criminality and Violent Criminal Behavior: A Replication and Extension (February 1, 2002) [a final report presented to the National Institute of Justice under Grant No. 97-IJ-CX-0017. Electronic copy available at www.ncjrs.org; search the abstract database]. This work is an augmentation of previous studies, which identified childhood victimization as an important risk factor in the development of criminal behavior. It looks specifically at abuse (including neglect) and the affect it has on violent criminal behavior. Race and gender are also studied in relation to violent criminal behavior and the interplay of abuse and neglect.

    Among the findings in this study, the authors report:

! Abused/neglected children are almost 4.8 times more likely to be arrested as juveniles and twice as likely to be arrested as adults.

! In general, individuals who were abused and neglected children are 3.1 times more likely to be arrested for a violent offense than were their matched controls.

! The risk for violent crime went up comparably among Caucasian and African-Americans who suffered neglect and abuse, but less for Native Americans.

! Preliminary findings indicate that abused and neglected youth who were removed from their homes and placed outside the home were at greater risk of subsequent arrest than abused and neglected youth who remained in their homes.

The authors discuss their findings in greater detail, as well as the policy implications.