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Replication Data for: Judging Prosecutors: Public Support for Prosecutorial Discretion

Harvard Dataverse (Africa Rice Center, Bioversity International, CCAFS, CIAT, IFPRI, IRRI and WorldFish)

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Title Replication Data for: Judging Prosecutors: Public Support for Prosecutorial Discretion
 
Identifier https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/W0OKO0
 
Creator Nelson, Michael
Samarth, Taran
 
Publisher Harvard Dataverse
 
Description Prosecutors have immense discretion to determine which offenses to charge, which cases to take to trial, and which sentences to recommend. Yet, even though many of the prosecutors who exercise this discretion over important crimes must face the electorate to keep their jobs, we know little about how the use of this discretion affects prosecutors' electoral fortunes. Drawing on two experiments embedded in a nationally-representative survey, we demonstrate that the public is more supportive of prosecutors who issue lenient sentences, at least for low-level crimes. The results have important implications for criminal justice reform inasmuch as they provide a linkage between progressive prosecutorial behavior and respondents' vote intentions.
 
Subject Law
Social Sciences
 
Contributor Nelson, Michael