PSYC 372 Lecture 1: plaw 1
Document Summary
Common good v. the rights of the individual. The judge could deviate from the recommended sentence, but to do so would take a lot of time and effort, which normally no judge was willing to do. This was put in place in an attempt to stop the disproportionate amount of black folk who were getting extremely severe sentences compared to white folk. Women who kill their abusive husbands are actually more likely to be convicted with longer sentences. Jury nullification jury has the right to declare a person not guilty even when the law itself sees the person as guilty. Judges are supposed to remind the jury that they have the right to nullify, but most don"t . Claim that people already know they have the right to nullify, no need to remind: 2. ) Some claim that to tell the jury would be an invitation for chaos and anarchy. Some cases have higher rates of jury nullification mercy killings.
