Monica K. Miller

Religion in Criminal Justice Monica K. Miller

Miller demonstrates how religion affects every aspect of the judicial system by focusing on religious appeals by attorneys in closing arguments of death penalty sentencing trials. She explores whether these appeals lead jurors to make legally impermissible decisions, as some courts have feared. Can religious appeals lead jurors to rely on the Bible instead of state law? Her results show that the more participants relied on Biblical authority, the more they relied on their instincts and the less they relied on evidence and judge¿s instructions. Gender, devotionalism, belief in a literal Biblical interpretation, and an individual¿s cognitive processing style also affected verdicts.