Perceptions of Estimated Pain Experienced During Execution: Effects of Gender and Belief in Capital Punishment

Abstract

Little is known about the pain experienced by a condemned person during different methods of execution. Even less is known about the perceptions people have about what the condemned person might experience during execution. Seven different methods of execution studied by Hillman (1993) suggest that the possible pain experienced varies across methods. The seven methods were rank ordered from most to least painful. A 5-point Likert scale was used with undergraduate students to rate the seven methods on perceived painfulness. Results revealed effects of gender, method of execution, but not belief in capital punishment. Women rated pain significantly higher than men. With the exception of stoning and lethal injection, the remaining five methods were not ordered like the Hillman criteria might predict. These results demonstrate that perceptions of the amount of pain experienced by condemned individuals are not based on what the empirical evidence would predict, but rather on some combination of experiential factors and bias from media portrayals, the value one places on capital punishment, and empathy.