Entries tagged with “Jon Freeman”
Policy Issues
Arbitrariness
,Race
,Jan 02, 2024
NEW STUDY: Research Suggests the Arbitrariness of Facial Features Affects Jurors’ Sentencing Decisions in Death Penalty Cases
A new study from Columbia University researchers indicates that jurors’ perception of facial features in white defendants affects their sentencing decisions, much like the biases that affect every day social interactions and decision making. Through four experiments with 1,400 volunteers, “the researchers found that when real-world defendants have facial features that appear untrustworthy, they are more likely to be sentenced to death than life in prison.” Particular facial features, such as…