Year: 2003 Source: Death Studies, v.27, no.9, (November 2003), p.823-834 SIEC No: 20031212

In order to determine if sentence & strictness of instructions influence juries’ willingness to convict suicide attempters, 240 undergraduates read jury instructions for a suicide attempt that varied sentence & instructions, voted guilty/not guilty, & rated their certainty & effectiveness. With sentences of 25 hours mandatory counselling, or strict instructions, more respondents voted guilty. Overall, respondents were neutral that convicting a suicide attempter would reduce future attempts. (26 refs)