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Beliefs About Police Error Leading To Wrongful Convictions And Attitudes On Police Legitimacy, Julia Melfi
Beliefs About Police Error Leading To Wrongful Convictions And Attitudes On Police Legitimacy, Julia Melfi
Criminal Justice
This study investigates the relations between citizens’ perceptions of how police misconduct as a factor contributing to wrongful convictions is connected to attitudes towards police legitimacy. I hypothesized that there would be a negative correlation between the two variables such that the more individuals believe police error contributes to wrongful convictions, the less legitimate they perceive the police to be. I also examined how citizens’ race affects these perceptions and attitudes, too, and hypothesized that Black citizens are more likely than White citizens to believe police error leads to wrongful conviction and mistrust the police. To test the hypotheses data …
Sentencing Length Disparities: Assessing Why Race And Gender Influence Judges’ Decisions, Janna Akers
Sentencing Length Disparities: Assessing Why Race And Gender Influence Judges’ Decisions, Janna Akers
Scripps Senior Theses
The purpose of this study is to assess why the race and gender of defendants influence judges’ decisions using the focal concern theory. This study will require around 84 participants. Participants will be federal judges who will be recruited via email. In an online survey, participants will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions . Participants will all read a vignette which an individual was convicted for in trafficking of Xanax. The vignette will be manipulated by the name and accompanying a mugshot based on the race (Black/White) and gender (male/female) of the defendant. The expected result is that …