Research on Jury Bias

The play Twelve Angry Men by Reginald Rose demonstrates how biases can affect jury duty. A bias is a prejudice in favor of a particular group, person, or thing resulting in unfairness. This play gives readers an example of how biases influence the thoughts of many. Each juror is biased in their own way, whether it is race, age, or gender. These bias’ prevent people from seeing the truth to a side of a story. The twelve jurors must determine the fate of the eighteen year old boy without leading their biases in different interpretations of the evidence. Biased stereotypes tend to combine with the tendency to repent information proving evidence. More times than not the ones who are biased do not realize it. They proceed to input their conscience

Racial disparity in the sentencing process of the criminal justice system also exists because of racial jurors. To eliminate the suspensions of racial disparity of racial jurors the jury will select at least one African-American to serve for the jury. A percentage of African-Americans oppose capital punishment (Tabak, 1999, p. 6). Prosecutors commonly discriminate against African-Americans during challenges of discretions and blatantly abuse the powers of prosecutors. Juries predominantly use more Whites in every trial is inappropriate on the levels of the criminal justice system. Americans have rights to a trial by jury of peers and has the right not to exclude minorities in the selection of a jury. Excluding minorities in a jury of an individual’s peers is a violation of an objective and fair trial for a defendant.

When thinking of a jury, there is a belief that everyone is fair when it comes to making the decision of whether the person being accused of the crime is guilty or not guilty because of the person’s race. What if this belief is not necessarily correct? There have been many instances in whether race has been a factor when the jury makes a decision. According to Baskin, Goldstein, and Sommers (2014), there has been enough evidence to show that racial biases influences the decisions of a jury. In this paper, the articles will show how jury decision-making is influenced by the offender’s race.

Racial differences within the court system of the United States can create various interpretations of laws and the impartiality of such laws. Minorities within this country may believe that the criminal justice system has prejudices and may dismiss the legality of certain laws. Jury nullification is a process in which members of the jury exonerate a person of a guilty verdict although the evidence presented in the case overwhelmingly proves the person’s guilt. People within the jury may believe the laws are not fair, do not apply to the particular case, or they may empathize with the defendant (McNamara & Burns, 2009).

They would determine guilt or innocence based on the details. A person of the same racial profile may be subject to feelings the feelings of sorry for the person based on their lifestyle or childhood issues that they may feel has a bearing on their criminal behavior. Jury nullification is the process that allows individuals to be acquitted based on evidence, guilt or innocence not for feelings, but if a crime exists does it deserves punishment.

In the article “Race, wrongful conviction and exoneration” by Earl smith and Angela J. Hattery, these sociologist discuss the issues of racial discrimination and the amount of wrongful convictions within the American justice system. They also discuss the issues on the lack of exonerations based on race in our prison systems. As stated in the article “Approximately 75% [of citizens] in jail are members of minority groups and on average have spent 13 years in prison for crimes they did not commit.” (Smith) This heart breaking statistic shows the true facts that there is an increasing issue in the amount of people in jail for crimes they did not commit due to their race. The main focus of the article is to raise awareness about the issues within our countries justice system and to understand the reasons for these inequalities on a deeper level.

Race is one of the most controversial topics when speaking of bias, and still to this day race is occasionally believed to sway the judicial system’s decisions. A recent statistic proved that less than 5 years ago in North Carolina more than 52% of potential black jurors were cut, or peremptory challenged, meaning they removed from a case without reason (S.M.). Not only do jurors experience discrimination but suspects on trial have also suffered for decades. Evidence shows judges sentence black convicts to 20%

Being sent to Death Row is the highest prosecution a criminal could be sentenced to and the process when determining of someone deserves a death sentence is a very bias decision. Since 1977 when capital punishment was restored there has been about 20,600 homicides and only about .7 death sentences for every 100 homicides has been given in the Cook county. The decision to impose a death sentence is not only based on the crime done but also the race of the victim. Attorneys at a state level has a less formal guide when giving death sentences. It is commonly seen how race plays a major role in the justice system. As apart of attorney protocol of determining if the death sentence is given it is seen black males will be given a higher sentence versus a white male even if the crimes where similar. In this article “Disparities on Death Row” published in Grumman points out the unjustness in the justice system. Through ethos, pathos, and logos Cornelia Grumman effectively persuades her audience to spread the issues of capital punishment assignment.

A person who experiences a traumatic event may be expected to experience a range of psychological effects, and, for many years, it was assumed that these psychological effects would be the same regardless of the cause of the injury. However, a growing body of knowledge is demonstrating that the impact of criminal victimization is different than the impact of other types of injuries because the intent element makes a difference in how the victim perceives the harm. In addition, victims of different crimes may respond differently to victimization. The psychological effects of victimization are important because they can help guide the criminal justice system for how to interact with victims and how to make the process more victim-appropriate. For example, victims of violent crimes, like sexual assaults, may benefit more from a victim-centered criminal justice approach than victims of other types of crimes (Resick, 1987). However, one of the problems with the traditional approach to victimology is that it has distinguished between different groups of victims. Emerging research suggest that victim needs are similar across the entire spectrum of crime, particularly the victims' needs for information about the crime and the needs for financial restitution to make them whole (ten Boom & Kuijpers, 2012).

In order to have a well-rounded mindsight, one must possess the three capabilities of openness, observation, and objectivity. These three characteristics make up the tripod that supports an effective and efficient mindsight, thus leading to a better understanding of oneself (Siegel, 2010, p. 48). Openness refers to recognizing antagonistic thoughts and negating their effect; observation is the ability of self-recognition even in times of distraction; lastly, objectivity is the ability to not let a certain feeling preoccupy or consume our thoughts. In the past, I have struggled with these three characteristics that have prevented me from developing a healthy mindsight. Throughout high school, I battled with extreme self-confidence issues, and found it difficult especially to be open and objective with myself. Consumed by these unhealthy thoughts, I would allow my own restrictive judgements of myself to devour my life and dominate every aspect of it. Unbeknownst to me, I was enabling these judgements to control my life, rather than realizing that I was only battling myself. As I grew older, I came to realize that learning to be objective and dismissive to unwanted and detrimental thoughts was the key to overcoming my issues.

“whole” view of themselves (Butman, Jones, 2011, 141). On the contrary, individuals who do not

The first approach to self-schema development we will evaluate is Self-Discrepancy Theory (SDT) (Higgins, 1987). In this theory self-schemas develop to drive the actual self (who somebody is now) towards the ideal self (who somebody wants to be) and the ought self (who somebody should be according to others). Reflected appraisals build a network of the actual self, and this knowledge is used to move towards the ideal and ought selves. Discrepancies between actual and ideal result in dejection, and discrepancies between actual and ought result in agitation (Higgins, Bond, Klein, &

In the courtroom, these stressors come out in full force. Although the Courts have “concluded that statistics alone do not prove that race enter[s] into any capital sentencing decision in any one particular case…” it is obvious that ethnicity becomes a factor (Ross 153). Countering the court’s argument, statistics have shown that in America, “blacks who killed whites were five and six times… more likely to be sentenced to death than whites who killed whites” (151). The reason for this is mainly due to jurors unintentionally letting race influence their decision making process. The in-group bias and ethnic boundaries described above cloud the jury’s judgment, seeking a stronger penalty for minority groups. Also, if the victim who was killed was someone with good

Several of the jurors are shown to have serious personal biases that interfere with their ability to objectively look at the evidence of the case. The most prominent example is Juror no. 10, a garage owner, who from the very beginning is shown to be bigoted towards people from the slums. One of his first lines, in response to Juror

Criminal punishments and victimization cause people to become more helpless after the matter, and they are often unable to leave their past behind them. Unfortunately, there is a pattern shown that often times race, the area in which a person lives, and social status of a criminal and the victim are taken into consideration when deciding on punishment for a crime. This can lead to discrimination playing a role in the decision making which is unfair. African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to be searched, questioned, or apprehended by a law enforcement officer than whites. Criminal and victims both will have many obstacles that they may face and have to overcome. These obstacles involve things that involve physical and emotional pain, mental difficulties, and even financial problems; however, different situations will affect each individual in various