Mock Juror Perceptions of Credibility and Culpability in an Autistic Defendant.

Mock Juror Perceptions of Credibility and Culpability in an Autistic Defendant.
J Autism Dev Disord. 2018 Oct 31;:
Authors: Maras K, Marshall I, Sands C
Abstract
One-hundred-and-sixty jury-eligible participants read a vignette describing a male who was brought to the attention of police for suspicious and aggressive behaviours and displayed atypical behaviours in court. Half of participants were informed that he had autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and were given background information about ASD; the other half received no diagnostic label or information. The provision of a label and information led to higher ratings of the defendant's honesty and likeability, reduced blameworthiness, and resulted in fewer guilty verdicts, and more lenient sentencing. Thematic analysis revealed that participants in the label condition were more empathetic and attributed his behaviours to his ASD and mitigating factors, while participants in the No label condition perceived the defendant as deceitful, unremorseful, rude and aggressive.
PMID: 30382444 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - October 31, 2018 Category: Psychiatry Authors: Maras K, Marshall I, Sands C Tags: J Autism Dev Disord Source Type: research