NCJ Number
92154
Journal
Basic and Applied Social Psychology Volume: 3 Issue: 1 Dated: (1982) Pages: 21-33
Date Published
1982
Length
13 pages
Annotation
Two experiments that investigated how racial bias affects juror decisionmaking in rape trials reveal that racial bias against blacks, particularly the victim, appears in pretrial odds of guilt and in distortion of neutral evidence.
Abstract
Three sources of juror bias were examined: (1) prior probabilities of guilt, (2) distortion of the meaning of evidence, and (3) differential weighting of information. A paired comparison technique used in the first study revealed that pretrial probabilities of guilt were greater when the victim was white than when she was black. In the second experiment, a different group of subjects viewed one of four videotaped simulated rape trials in which seven segments of testimony had been previously rated as pro-prosecution, pro-defense, or neutral. During the trial, subjects rated each segment on three different scales: prosecution, defense, and degree of defendant guilt. Results indicated that neutral evidence was seen as more favorable to the prosecution for a white victim compared to a black victim. Evidence which favored either prosecution or defense was not distorted. Regression analyses revealed a positive relationship between estimates of guilt and distortion of evidence. The weight or importance of the evidence did not vary as a function of victim or defendant race. Years of recommended imprisonment indicated greater severity toward the black assailant of a white woman. Results suggest that bias in favor of white victims occurs both in the assessment of pretrial probabilities and perception of evidence. Tabular data and 26 references are provided. (Author abstract modified)