NCJ Number
86468
Journal
American Journal of Mental Deficiency Volume: 86 Issue: 3 Dated: (1981) Pages: 235-242
Date Published
1981
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This survey assesses college students' attitudes toward mentally retarded criminal offenders and their estimates of the types of crimes most often committed by retarded persons in order to determine how attitudes toward the retarded may affect juror decisionmaking.
Abstract
Based on the survey results, an experiment was conducted in which students' reactions to one of two different types of crimes committed by either a retarded or nonretarded person were examined. Results indicated that the retarded offender received a lighter sentence regardless of the types of crime, apparently because the students thought the retarded offender had been coerced into committing the crime and also into confessing to it. Implications of these results for cases involving retarded defendants were discussed. Study data and eight references are provided. (Author abstract modified)