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The Truth About Snitches: An Archival Analysis Of Informant Testimony, Jeffrey S. Neuschatz, Danielle K. Deloach, Megan A. Hillgartner, Melanie Fessinger, Stacy A. Wetmore, Amy B. Douglass, Brian H. Bornstein, Alexis M. Le Grand Jan 2021

The Truth About Snitches: An Archival Analysis Of Informant Testimony, Jeffrey S. Neuschatz, Danielle K. Deloach, Megan A. Hillgartner, Melanie Fessinger, Stacy A. Wetmore, Amy B. Douglass, Brian H. Bornstein, Alexis M. Le Grand

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Informants are witnesses who often testify in exchange for an incentive (i.e. jailhouse informant, cooperating witness). Despite the widespread use of informants, little is known about the circumstances surrounding their use at trial. This study content-analyzed trials from 22 DNA exoneration cases involving 53 informants. Because these defendants were exonerated, the prosecution informant testimony is demonstrably false. Informant characteristics including motivation for testifying, criminal history, relationship with the defendant and testimony were coded. Most informants were prosecution jailhouse informants; however, there were also defence jailhouse informants and prosecution cooperating witnesses. Regardless of informant type, most denied receiving an incentive, had …


The Truth About Snitches: An Archival Analysis Of Informant Testimony, Jeffrey S. Neuschatz, Danielle K. Deloach, Megan A. Hilgartner, Melanie Fessinger, Stacy A. Wetmore, Amy B. Douglass, Brian H. Bornstein, Alexis M. Le Grand Jan 2021

The Truth About Snitches: An Archival Analysis Of Informant Testimony, Jeffrey S. Neuschatz, Danielle K. Deloach, Megan A. Hilgartner, Melanie Fessinger, Stacy A. Wetmore, Amy B. Douglass, Brian H. Bornstein, Alexis M. Le Grand

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Informants are witnesses who often testify in exchange for an incentive (i.e. jailhouse informant, cooperating witness). Despite the widespread use of informants, little is known about the circumstances surrounding their use at trial. This study content-analyzed trials from 22 DNA exoneration cases involving 53 informants. Because these defendants were exonerated, the prosecution informant testimony is demonstrably false. Informant characteristics including motivation for testifying, criminal history, relationship with the defendant and testimony were coded. Most informants were prosecution jailhouse informants; however, there were also defence jailhouse informants and prosecution cooperating witnesses. Regardless of informant type, most denied receiving an incentive, had …


Measuring Older Adult Confidence In The Courts And Law Enforcement, Joseph A. Hamm, Lindsey E. Wylie, Eve M. Brank Jan 2016

Measuring Older Adult Confidence In The Courts And Law Enforcement, Joseph A. Hamm, Lindsey E. Wylie, Eve M. Brank

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Older adults are an increasingly relevant subpopulation for criminal justice policy but, as yet, are largely neglected in the relevant research. The current research addresses this by reporting on a psychometric evaluation of a measure of older adults’ Confidence in Legal Institutions (CLI). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) provided support for the unidimensionality and reliability of the measures. In addition, participants’ CLI was related to cynicism, trust in government, dispositional trust, age, and education, but not income or gender. The results provide support for the measures of confidence in the courts and law enforcement, so we present the scale as a …


Disputed Paraphilia Diagnoses And Legal Decision Making: A Case Law Survey Of Paraphilia Nos, Nonconsent, Christopher M. King, Lindsey E. Wylie, Eve M. Brank, Kirk Heilbrun Jan 2014

Disputed Paraphilia Diagnoses And Legal Decision Making: A Case Law Survey Of Paraphilia Nos, Nonconsent, Christopher M. King, Lindsey E. Wylie, Eve M. Brank, Kirk Heilbrun

Department of Psychology: Faculty Publications

Paraphilia diagnoses applied in forensic settings are an ongoing subject of debate among psycholegal professionals and scholars. Disagreements pertain to both means-related issues having to do with issues of diagnostic reliability and validity, and ends-related issues regarding the consequences inherent to the legal contexts in which the diagnoses arise. To provide a fresh outlook on some of the issues, the present study entailed a systematic survey of U.S. case law to investigate the history, extent, and nature of forensic uses of a controversial paraphilia diagnosis, paraphilia not otherwise specified, nonconsent. Descriptive analyses revealed that use of the diagnosis, which occurred …