Tag Archives: defendant

Well, here's one more argument for an overhaul of the jury system in America. According to a Cornell University study, a physically unattractive defendant is likely to receive a harsher sentence than a more attractive defendant – a prison sentence up to 22 months longer, on average, for a similar crime. The study looks at two kinds of jurors – those who process information rationally and without regard for the appearance of the defendant, and jurors who process information emotionally, giving harsher verdicts and sentencing based upon their perception of the physical attributes of the defendant. Author Justin Gunnell '05, J.D. '08, who began working on the study as a policy analysis and management major with co-author Stephen Ceci, and Cornell's Helen L. Carr Professor of Developmental Psychology were determined to find out why there have been reports of such disparities for decades. Using 169 Cornell undergraduates, the scientists determined those individuals who processed information rationally, using facts, analysis and reason, and those who based their decisions on emotion which factored in irrelevant factors such as race, gender and class, and who reported that a “less attractive” person would be “more likely” the kind of person who would commit a crime. The study concluded with the participants looking at an actual case file and photograph, jury instructions and closing arguments and rendering his or her verdict and sentencing accordingly. (In fairness, this inconsistency was reported in those cases with ambiguous evidence or lesser charged offenses; in other words, not in cases where there was harder evidence more determinative of guilt). Since in the American justice system, attorneys have an opportunity to screen jurors for specific reasons, and for a limited number of non-specific reasons, this study might be useful, in designing questions or challenges that get to the heart of a prospective juror's mindset, but can we ever ensure a jury system without predisposition, whether for race, gender, class or attractiveness? Should we even be surprised by this study, with what we, as laymen, know of human nature? This tosses another ball into the court of proponents for professional jurors – with its own set of drawbacks, but arguably a more plausible solution to justice in the courtroom. http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/6015099-unattractive-defendants-receiv… added by: Stoneyroad