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A Threat To Valid Guilty Pleas: The Impact Of Guilt Status, Acute Stress, And Plea Knowledge On Plea-Bargaining Decisions, Grace Hanzelin
A Threat To Valid Guilty Pleas: The Impact Of Guilt Status, Acute Stress, And Plea Knowledge On Plea-Bargaining Decisions, Grace Hanzelin
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
The most common route through the US criminal justice system is through plea-bargaining, with over 95% of criminal cases ending in a guilty plea. Previous studies have found different factors (e.g., plea discounts; Wilford et al., 2021) that can increase the likelihood of a false guilty plea. This study aimed to further investigate the effect of guilt status on plea decisions, but also to see how guilt may work alongside acute stress and pre-existing knowledge of the plea process to drive plea-bargaining decisions. Participants (N = 188) were assigned to complete either a stressful or a non-stressful version of the …