Universität zu Köln

Schmittat, Susanne M., Englich, Birte, Sautner, Lyane and Velten, Petra . Alternative stories and the decision to prosecute: an applied approach against confirmation bias in criminal prosecution. Psychol. Crime Law. ABINGDON: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD. ISSN 1477-2744

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Abstract

In many legal systems, preliminary proceedings and the prosecutor's charging decision predict the outcome of the trial, as reflected in high conviction rates. This charging decision is mostly based on the final police report, which is primarily aimed to substantiate the given suspicion and may lead to a preponderance of incriminating evidence. We investigated if a written statement by the defense (an alternative story) can balance out this information disparity and can alter the charging decision. Building on classical debiasing methods, the Story Model and narrative persuasion, we hypothesized that an alternative story reduces the likelihood of being charged, because the police report becomes less unique. Participants of three experiments (criminal-law students, N = 684) received either only the police report, or the police report plus an alternative story (vs. a statement merely claiming innocence) and were asked to make charging decisions. The presence of prior conviction evidence (PCE) was varied. Results show that 1) an alternative story reduces (and PCE increases) the likelihood of being charged, 2) a statement merely claiming innocence is less but still effective, and 3) PCE effects were small and inconsistent. Underlying mechanisms, implications for criminal procedural law, and applicability to adversarial systems are discussed.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Schmittat, Susanne M. UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Englich, Birte UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Sautner, Lyane UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Velten, Petra UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-574694
DOI:	10.1080/1068316X.2021.1941013
Journal or Publication Title:	Psychol. Crime Law
Publisher:	ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
Place of Publication:	ABINGDON
ISSN:	1477-2744
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language DEVILS ADVOCATE; PRIOR RECORD; MOCK JURORS; JUDGMENTS; EXPLANATION; DEFENDANTS; POLICE; TRANSPORTATION; INFORMATION; PERCEPTIONS Multiple languages Criminology & Penology; Law; Psychology, Multidisciplinary Multiple languages
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/57469