Liberation hypothesis

In criminal justice, the liberation hypothesis proposes that extra-legal factors (such as race of offender and pretrial publicity) affect sentencing outcomes more in regards to less serious offenses compared to more serious ones, ostensibly because juries and judges will feel less able to follow their personal sentiments with regard to more serious crimes.^[1]^[2] The hypothesis also proposes that the extent to which extra-legal factors sentencing outcomes is dependent on the strength of the evidence in the case.^[2] The hypothesis was first proposed by Harry Kalven and Hans Zeisel in their 1966 book "The American Jury".^[3] Since then, multiple studies have found support for it.^[1]^[4]^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b Smith, Brent L.; Damphousse, Kelly R. (February 1998). "Terrorism, politics and punishment: a test of Structural-Contextual theory and the 'Liberation Hypothesis". Criminology. 36 (1): 67–92. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1998.tb01240.x.
^ ^a ^b Bjerregaard, B. E.; Smith, M. D.; Cochran, J. K.; Fogel, S. J. (9 March 2015). "A Further Examination of the Liberation Hypothesis in Capital Murder Trials". Crime & Delinquency. doi:10.1177/0011128715574454.
^ Devine, Dennis J.; Buddenbaum, Jennifer; Houp, Stephanie; Studebaker, Nathan; Stolle, Dennis P. (2009). "Strength of evidence, extraevidentiary influence, and the liberation hypothesis: Data from the field". Law and Human Behavior. 33 (2): 136–148. doi:10.1007/s10979-008-9144-x.
^ Spohn, Cassia; Cederblom, Jerry (September 1991). "Race and disparities in sentencing: A test of the liberation hypothesis". Justice Quarterly. 8 (3): 305–327. doi:10.1080/07418829100091071.
^
Hester, Rhys; Hartman, Todd K. (29 February 2016). "Conditional Race Disparities in Criminal Sentencing: A Test of the Liberation Hypothesis From a Non-Guidelines State" (PDF). Journal of Quantitative Criminology. doi:10.1007/s10940-016-9283-z.
- Edward Helmore (29 February 2016). "Racial bias evident in South Carolina criminal sentences, study reveals". The Guardian.

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[smith-1] Smith, Brent L.; Damphousse, Kelly R. (February 1998). "Terrorism, politics and punishment: a test of Structural-Contextual theory and the 'Liberation Hypothesis". Criminology. 36 (1): 67–92. doi:10.1111/j.1745-9125.1998.tb01240.x.

[Bjerregaard-2] Bjerregaard, B. E.; Smith, M. D.; Cochran, J. K.; Fogel, S. J. (9 March 2015). "A Further Examination of the Liberation Hypothesis in Capital Murder Trials". Crime & Delinquency. doi:10.1177/0011128715574454.

[3] Devine, Dennis J.; Buddenbaum, Jennifer; Houp, Stephanie; Studebaker, Nathan; Stolle, Dennis P. (2009). "Strength of evidence, extraevidentiary influence, and the liberation hypothesis: Data from the field". Law and Human Behavior. 33 (2): 136–148. doi:10.1007/s10979-008-9144-x.

[4] Spohn, Cassia; Cederblom, Jerry (September 1991). "Race and disparities in sentencing: A test of the liberation hypothesis". Justice Quarterly. 8 (3): 305–327. doi:10.1080/07418829100091071.

[5] Hester, Rhys; Hartman, Todd K. (29 February 2016). "Conditional Race Disparities in Criminal Sentencing: A Test of the Liberation Hypothesis From a Non-Guidelines State" (PDF). Journal of Quantitative Criminology. doi:10.1007/s10940-016-9283-z.
Edward Helmore (29 February 2016). "Racial bias evident in South Carolina criminal sentences, study reveals". The Guardian.

[6] Edward Helmore (29 February 2016). "Racial bias evident in South Carolina criminal sentences, study reveals". The Guardian.

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