Capital Punishment in Brazil: Exploring Factors That Predict Public Support for the Death Penalty

• Author: Francis Danso Boateng,Michael K. Dzordzormenyoh
• Published date: 01 February 2022
• Date: 01 February 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/10439862211034345
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862211034345

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2022, Vol. 38(1) 56 –71

© The Author(s) 2021

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/10439862211034345

journals.sagepub.com/home/ccj

Article

Capital Punishment in

Brazil: Exploring Factors

That Predict Public Support

for the Death Penalty

Francis Danso Boateng1

and Michael K. Dzordzormenyoh2

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to examine public support for the death penalty

in Brazil and to determine factors that influence such support. Currently, Brazil has the

death penalty for cases involving war crimes, genocides, terrorism, and crime against

humanity. The country’s constitution, however, prohibits the use of the death penalty

in ordinary crimes. Analyzing individual-level cross-sectional data collected by the

American Barometer Survey, we found that a significant majority of Brazilians support

the death penalty, with more than two thirds expressing greater support. In terms of

factors, it was revealed that frequency of murders, sense of insecurity, and perceived

institutional legitimacy largely influence support for the death penalty. In addition,

ethnicity, religiosity, and religious affiliation affect citizens’ attitudes toward the death

penalty. The findings of this study have serious implications for research and practice.

Keywords

death penalty, capital punishment, legitimacy, Brazil, insecurity, crime

Introduction

Historically, punishment has been the universal response to crime and deviance world-

wide. Despite the global acceptance of punishment, it would be a grave blunder to

view punishment as a uniform response to different types of crime and deviance. In

1The University of Mississippi, University, USA

2University of California, Santa Barbara, USA

Corresponding Author:

Francis Danso Boateng, Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, The University of Mississippi,

University, MS 38677, USA.

Email: fboateng@olemiss.edu

1034345CCJXXX10.1177/10439862211034345Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeBoateng and Dzordzormenyoh

research-article2021

Boateng and Dzordzormenyoh 57

fact, how punishment is defined, their legal treatment, and execution reflect the pre-

vailing social, political, economic, and historical conditions of a society at any given

point in time (Kronenwetter, 2001; Miethe & Lu, 2005; Unnever, 2010). The literature

on death penalty is extensive, and has identified several important indicators of public

opinion on the death penalty. These factors include political, economic, and social

variables (Kent, 2010; Miethe et al., 2005; Singer et al., 2020; Unnever & Cullen,

2009), crime and victimization (Hessing et al., 2003; Stack, 2004; Unnever et al.,

2007), and demographic characteristics such as race, ethnicity, education, age, reli-

gion, religiosity, and political ideology (Cullen et al., 2000; DiIulio, 1994; Hood &

Hoyle, 2009, 2015; Loury, 2008; Miller & Hayward, 2008; Ruddell & Urbina, 2004;

Soss et al., 2003; Stack, 2004; Unnever, 2010; Unnever & Cullen, 2006, 2007; Unnever

et al., 2006; Weitzer & Tuch, 2004, 2005).

Although the empirical evidence from existing literature has improved our

understanding of the death penalty and the factors that predict public opinion, the

literature is not without gaps and disagreements. First, the existing literature largely

focuses on examining the death penalty in developed and wealthy countries com-

pared with developing countries like Brazil and other Latin and South American

nations. This neglect is impeding accumulation of scientific knowledge with respect

to punishment in these countries. Second, findings about what influences public

support for the death penalty is largely mixed, with limited consensus among aca-

demics. The dearth of research in developing countries and the divergence among

scholars create room for further examination of how citizens’ opinions on the death

penalty are shaped.

The overall purpose of this study is to understand the etiology of capital punish-

ment in Brazil. The objective of this study is twofold. First, the study aims to assess

the extent of public support for the death penalty in Brazil. Second, to examine factors

that influence public opinion about the death penalty. Based on these objectives, two

research questions guided this exploration

Research Question 1: Do most Brazilians favor the death penalty for cases involv-

ing murders?

Research Question 2: What variables predict or explain Brazilians’ attitudes

toward the death penalty?

To achieve the study’s twofold objective and address the research queries, we ana-

lyzed individual-level cross-sectional data collected by the American Barometer

Survey. Findings from this endeavor will be meaningful to our understanding of capi-

tal punishment in several ways. First, by focusing on Brazil, the results of the study

will bridge the research gap between developed and the less developed nations, and

shed light on factors influencing public opinion on capital punishment outside the

Western world. Society is idiosyncratic in nature, meaning that, results obtained in one

context may not be applicable in explaining behavior in another context. Thus, we

cannot explain Brazilians’ attitudes toward punishment without analyzing data

obtained on Brazilians. Second, findings from this study will have serious implications