“Reject the Offer”: The Asymmetric Impact of Defense Attorneys’ Plea Recommendations

Henderson, Kelsey S.; Sutherland, Kelly T.; Wilford, Miko M.

doi:10.1177/00938548231172515

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 32 publications

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“…Past research using Prolific has found a roughly 19% rate of unusable data due to failed attention and/or manipulation checks. 57 As such, we planned to recruit at least 237 participants.…”

Section: B Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Day Late and a Dollar Short: Examining Perceptions of Which Exonerees Deserve Compensation

Olson,

Henderson,

Leymon

et al. 2023

Wrongful Conviction L Rev

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Many exonerees do not receive compensation from the state after they are released (43%) because most states have exclusionary laws that bar exonerees from receiving compensation (n = 16 states) (Compensation Primer, 2022). This study examined public perceptions of exoneree compensation, exclusionary laws and addressed the broader question of who deserves compensation (according to community members). Online participants (n = 225) read an article about a fictional exoneree who either pleaded guilty or was convicted by a jury trial and who either did or did not have a subsequent conviction. An exoneree with a subsequent conviction was perceived as less deserving of financial compensation (roughly $8,000 less annually) and less deserving of support services. It was rated less positively than an exoneree who did not have a subsequent conviction. No differences were found between an exoneree who pleaded guilty and an exoneree who was convicted by a jury trial, demonstrating little impact of this common exclusionary rule on community members’ perceptions and decisions. Overall, participants overwhelmingly supported exoneree compensation (only 6.7% disagreed). However, there are caveats. Community members are less supportive of compensating exonerees who have subsequent involvement with the justice system. These results illustrate possible biases the public has against an already marginalized population that has experienced a miscarriage of justice. Because public opinion can affect policy change, these results significantly affect state exclusionary rules and exoneree compensation policies.

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“…Past research using Prolific has found a roughly 19% rate of unusable data due to failed attention and/or manipulation checks. 57 As such, we planned to recruit at least 237 participants.…”

Section: B Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Day Late and a Dollar Short: Examining Perceptions of Which Exonerees Deserve Compensation

Olson,

Henderson,

Leymon

et al. 2023

Wrongful Conviction L Rev

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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The mark of a felony conviction: How does the threat of a felony influence willingness to accept a plea?

Lee,

Jaynes

2024

J Exp Criminol

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Objectives Investigate how the threat of a possible felony conviction affects defendants’ willingness to accept a plea (WTAP) and whether perceptions of collateral consequences explain this influence. Methods We use a nationwide (N=659) vignette experiment which manipulated 1) guilt and 2) plea offer charge reduction (felony or misdemeanor) to determine their effect on WTAP. Respondents were also asked to rank the relative importance of common collateral consequences in their decision to plea (or not). Results A felony probation plea offer, relative to a misdemeanor probation offer, was associated with lower WTAP. Perceptions of collateral consequences did not account for this “felony effect” on WTAP. Conclusions While people want to avoid the “mark” of a felony conviction, it is not necessarily due to fear of specific collateral consequences; instead, it appears that people want to avoid the stigmatizing label.

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Whose fault? Defendant perceptions of their own blameworthiness and guilty plea decisions

Lee,

Jaynes,

Patterson

2023

Journal of Crime and Justice

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“Reject the Offer”: The Asymmetric Impact of Defense Attorneys’ Plea Recommendations

Cited by 3 publications

References 32 publications

A Day Late and a Dollar Short: Examining Perceptions of Which Exonerees Deserve Compensation

A Day Late and a Dollar Short: Examining Perceptions of Which Exonerees Deserve Compensation

The mark of a felony conviction: How does the threat of a felony influence willingness to accept a plea?

Whose fault? Defendant perceptions of their own blameworthiness and guilty plea decisions

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