Prior research on spousal homicide has primarily focused on cases arising from domestic violence or marital conflicts, with limited attention given to cases motivated by financial gain and the factors influencing punitive judgments in such cases. Therefore, this study examined the interaction effects of defendant gender, defendant age, and juror gender on punitive judgments. 400 adults in South Korea participated in the study. The results indicated that female defendants were more likely to be convicted of intentional homicide than male defendants. Additionally, younger defendants received harsher sentences than older defendants. Regarding sentencing decisions, a three-way interaction effect was observed. Female participants imposed significantly longer sentences on younger male defendants. Despite not statistically significant, female participants tended to impose more lenient sentences on elderly male defendants than on elderly female defendants, whereas male participants revealed the opposite pattern. These findings suggest that punitive judgment in spousal homicide cases may be influenced by biases related to gender and age, highlighting the need for judicial discussions that consider these factors. Finally, this study discussed its limitations and suggestions for future research.
