Assertions of “Future Dangerousness” at Federal Capital Sentencing: Rates and Correlates of Subsequent Prison Misconduct and Violence

摘要

The federal prison disciplinary records of federal capital inmates (n = 145) who were sentenced to life without possibility of release (LWOP) by plea bargain, pre-sentencing withdrawal of the death penalty, or jury determination were retrospectively reviewed (M = 6.17 years post-admission). Disaggregated prevalence rates were inversely related to infraction severity: serious infraction = 0.324, assaultive infraction = 0.207, serious assault = 0.09, assault with moderate injury = 0.007, assault with major injuries or death = 0.00. Frequency rates of misconduct were equivalent to other high-security federal inmates (n = 18,561), regardless of infraction severity. Government assertions of “future dangerousness” as a nonstatutory aggravating factor were not predictive of prison misconduct. These findings inform federal capital risk assessments and have public policy implications for procedural reliability in death penalty prosecutions.