Report: Attractive People Get Away With Crime

As professional Trial Consultants have known for a long time, the legal system is not as fair as it’s supposed to be and can be manipulated for a negotiable fee.   If you play a little with jury selection, as O.J. Simpson did in his trial, you might just get a “get out of jail free” card. After all, juries are made up of people, and people are naturally biased against other people. Confirming this, researchers at Cornell University recently found that unattractive defendants are 22% more likely to be convicted of a crime than good-looking ones as described by CBS news. In addition to increased chances of ending up in jail, unattractive defendants also get sentenced for an average of 22 months more prison time than attractive ones.

Cornell University graduate Justin Gunnell gave study participants case studies of defendants, including a photograph and profile. The participants then heard the jury instructions and closing arguments for the case. In serious cases with strong evidence, there was no difference between how juries judged attractive or unattractive defendants. However, in minor cases with ambiguous evidence, the participants were more likely to sentence unattractive defendants, and for a longer prison time, than attractive defendants.

So if you’re serving on a jury, try to resist your emotional reasoning side and focus on making a rational decision. Although the defendant may be guilty, it is unfair to sentence him to a longer time just because of his looks.

Have you encountered injustice in the justice system?

Article image by BowTieLaw.