Comprehension of judges' instructions in the penalty phase of a capital trial: Focus on mitigating circumstances.

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Abstract
Comprehension of two sets of judges' penalty phase instructions for a capital trial was examined. The 115 subjects, recruited from jury lists, viewed one of two 20-min videotapes, prepared either from the instructions given in a specific North Carolina capital trial several years ago or from the present North Carolina pattern instructions. After viewing the tape, subjects responded to a series of eight questions, which probed their understanding of the legal issues presented in the instructions. Compared to the subjects exposed to the present pattern instructions, those exposed to the instructions from the specific trial displayed significantly inferior understanding of the legal criteria to be used in deciding the existence of mitigating circumstances and for incorporating mitigating circumstances into the final jury recommendation of life imprisonment or the death penalty. The results of the experiment are relevant to appeals beyond the specific appeal that prompted the research, and the methodology is applicable to a range of issues.