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The Effects Of Variations Of Victim Impact Statements On Juror Bias, Emily Sutton
The Effects Of Variations Of Victim Impact Statements On Juror Bias, Emily Sutton
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Victim impact statements (VIS) are federally protected statements describing the physical, emotional, and financial impact of a crime on a victim. States can decide the content and timing of the VIS, resulting in much variation. Previous research has found an effect of these variations on mock juror bias in capital trials. The current study examined if variations such as changing the strength of emotion, crime type, and including sentencing recommendation within a VIS affects the judgements of mock jurors. The results showed the sexual assault VIS produced higher guilt ratings and longer sentences. Furthermore, the inclusion of a high sentencing …
The Effect Of Prior Consensual Sex Between The Victim And The Offender On The Prosecutor's Decision To File Charges In Sexual Assault Cases., Kimberly Brooke Hollifield
The Effect Of Prior Consensual Sex Between The Victim And The Offender On The Prosecutor's Decision To File Charges In Sexual Assault Cases., Kimberly Brooke Hollifield
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Research has shown that both legal and extra-legal factors are used by the prosecutor in a sexual assault case when making the decision to file charges in the case. However, no study on sexual assault prosecutorial discretion, at this time, has examined the effect of prior consensual sex between the victim and the offender and the affect that it has on the prosecutor’s decision to file charges. Using data from a National Institute of Justice Study on sexual assault case processing, this study tests whether evidence of prior consensual sex between the victim and the offender plays a role in …