Verdicts and Victim Blame: The Impact of Victim Race and Sexuality

Eshleman, Emily

Verdicts and Victim Blame: The Impact of Victim Race and Sexuality

Author(s)

Eshleman, Emily

Date Issued

April 3, 2024

Abstract

Much of the current literature on the impact of victim identity characteristics on jury decision-making has observed that when victims are Black, sentences are more lenient for defendants in comparison to cases with White victims. Additionally, studies have shown that victim blaming decreases in hate crimes and sentence severity increases. However, there are contrasting results on the impact of victim sexuality on jury decisions, and few studies examine the combined impact of race and sexuality. The current study aimed to bridge this gap using an intersectional approach. Approximately 73 undergraduate students acted as mock-jurors and were presented with a one-page case summary describing a murder in which the race and sexuality of the victim varied across conditions. They were asked to read the transcript, evaluate the culpability of the victim, determine if the crime was hate-based, give a verdict, and rate their confidence in that verdict. No significant impact of race or sexuality of victims on sentence was observed, and victim blaming did not moderate the relationship between victim race or sexuality and sentence. Further, there was no significant difference in sentence severity between those who perceived hate-motivation and those who did not. Future research should investigate the impact of race and sexuality saliency, expand on current variables, and further study the impact of crime severity.

Major

Psychology

Honors

Psychology, 2024

First Reader(s)

Normile, Christopher